Denver Auditor Dennis Gallagher and his inner political circle plotted to get rid of three employees because of their loyalty to his predecessor, according to affidavits filed in federal court Monday.
The affidavits, filed by former Auditor Don Mares; former Gallagher employee Lisa Ferreira; and Mike Beasley, a nephew of Gallagher’s former human resources director, are part of a suit alleging that Gallagher and his deputy, Dawn Sulley, despised Mares so much that they abolished the positions of three people who had worked for him.
Gallagher could not be reached late Monday afternoon. He has said in the past that elimination of the jobs was not politically motivated.
The three suing Gallagher are Barbara Neil, former administration and human resources director; Les Berry, former information technology director; and Tom Wulf, former finance and accounting director.
Gary and Dawn Sulley, both powerful north Denver Democrats, and Gallagher had a long-standing feud with Mares and his family, according to court papers.
Beasley, Neil’s nephew and a former appointee of Gov. Bill Owens’, described it in his affidavit as an “intense hatred.”
The Sulleys and Gallagher paid close attention to those who contributed to Mares when he ran for mayor in 2003, contends Beasley, who helped raise money for Gallagher’s auditor campaign.
When Gallagher was elected auditor that same year, he considered some employees untrustworthy, according to affidavits.
“Mr. Gallagher and the Sulleys concluded that Neil, Wulf and Berry could not be trusted because they were, and would always be, part of the Mares ‘political machine’ and indebted to Mr. Mares,” according to Ferreira, who says she had worked on all of Gallagher’s political campaigns since 1993 and was his employee from 1997 to 2004.
Ferreira also paints a picture of Gallagher’s office being run from the outside by Gary Sulley, whose “orders were virtually always followed.”
“Mr. Sulley would routinely give Mr. Gallagher and his inner staff ‘marching orders’ as to what goals should be accomplished and what strategies should be used to accomplish these goals,” she alleges.
Staff writer Karen Crummy can be reached at 303-820-1594 or kcrummy@denverpost.com.
