ALAMOSA
Adams State chief
loses lawsuit over job
Adams State College president Richard Wueste lost a court fight Friday to be reinstated as the college’s top administrator after the school’s board violated open-records laws in placing him on administrative leave.
Wueste filed a lawsuit in Alamosa District Court last month, asking that a court reinstate him. Adams State College, in court filings, conceded that it held meetings that did not comply with open-records laws but said that was not a reason to reinstate Wueste.
The board had accused Wueste, who was put on administrative leave in July, of mismanaging the school and losing the support of his staff. It will hold a hearing next week to decide whether to fire him.
Adams State put out a news release saying the board was pleased with the judge’s decision; Wueste’s attorneys could not be reached for comment.
DENVER
Barbershop sting
nets two drug arrests
Denver police arrested two men and uncovered a drug-dealing operation at a barbershop in northeast Denver.
A seven-month investigation showed that drugs and stolen merchandise were being sold out of Mickey’s Barber Shop in the 4700 block of Peoria Street, police said.
Employees and customers were involved in the operation, police said.
Edwin Thomas Sr., 32, was arrested on suspicion of distributing marijuana and theft by receiving.
Charles Segere, 47, was arrested on suspicion of possessing drugs.
DENVER
Suspect in child
sex assault arrested
Denver police sex-crimes detectives arrested Julio Aservi, 40, on Thursday in connection with an active sexual-assault- on-a-child investigation, Detective John White said.
“He’s a guy we’ve been looking for in connection with a sex assault on a child,” White said. “There is a possibility there may be additional victims.”
Aservi is being held in lieu of $75,000 bail at the Denver City Jail.
Anyone with additional information regarding the investigation is urged to contact Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867.
COLORADO
Tancredo again urges
plane’s grounding
U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo on Thursday issued another request that Mitsubishi MU-2 planes be grounded after “a rash of recent accidents,” including two near Centennial Airport.
In a letter to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America, Tancredo said there are “serious questions about the airworthiness” of MU-2 aircraft.
In December, an MU-2 with two pilots aboard crashed shortly after takeoff from Centennial, as the pilot-in-command was maneuvering to land after reporting a loss of power in one engine. Both crewmen were killed in the crash. The plane was owned and operated by American Check Transport, a freight hauler based at Front Range Airport in Adams County.
In August, another MU-2 in American Check’s fleet crashed while making an instrument landing approach to Centennial in rainy weather, killing the sole pilot aboard.
A preliminary National Transportation Safety Board report on the accident indicated that the plane may have been 800 feet below the prescribed altitude when it crossed a navigational marker about 6 miles from the runway.
On Thursday, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Allen Kenitzer said his agency “is performing a detailed review of accidents, incidents, airworthiness directives, service difficulty reports, safety recommendations and safety reports” on MU-2 aircraft.
The FAA also is looking at pilot-training requirements and “the history of the aircraft’s commercial operators,” Kenitzer said.
DENVER
Federal attorney
will replace judge
An assistant U.S. attorney has been named to replace a retiring magistrate judge on the federal bench in Denver.
Michael Hegarty, chief of the civil division in the Denver U.S. Attorney’s office, will begin the job March 15, according to an announcement by the U.S. District Court based in Denver.
Hegarty, 45, will replace Magistrate Judge O. Edward Schlatter, who is retiring.
Hegarty has been an assistant U.S. attorney since 1992. Before that, he was in private practice in Denver and New Hampshire. Hegarty also served as a law clerk to Dale Saffels, a federal judge in Kansas.
Magistrate judges, who generally handle pretrial matters, earn $149,132 a year.
SALT LAKE CITY
Mayor eases policy
for drinks on city tab
Mayor Rocky Anderson has signed a new policy loosening a city ordinance that prohibited putting any alcohol on the city business tab.
Anderson came under fire last week when it was reported the city picked up the tab at a hotel bar and the bill at a brewpub for food and drinks while he was entertaining during the city’s jazz festival.
Anderson signed a new policy Thursday that eliminates any reference to alcoholic beverages. He said he has purchased alcohol on city business before – and not in the sense of running a tab for a night of drinking.
“I can assure you there have been dinners where somebody has a glass of wine,” Anderson said. “Maybe it didn’t show up as alcoholic beverages on the receipts.”
