Golden – State investigators are on the case of a Jefferson County commissioner accused of misusing public money.
Jefferson County District Attorney Scott Storey said Friday he asked the Colorado Bureau of Investigation to follow up on allegations that county Commissioner Jim Congrove used taxpayer money to hire a friend to investigate private citizens.
“We’ve had a lot of citizen interest in … certain allegations within the county,” Storey said. “It’s got to the point that – although a formal complaint has not been brought to me – I felt that the allegations were serious and went to the core of our county government.”
Storey said his move was not an indication of what he thought of the allegations.
Instead, he wanted to remove any appearance of a conflict of interest “because the allegations involve a county commissioner, and we are so closely associated with the county commissioner.”
Jefferson County paid Professional Investigators – operated by former Denver police officer Daril Cinquanta, who is a friend of Congrove’s – more than $7,500 last year to investigate a critic of the county government and others.
The watchdog group Colorado Citizens for Ethics in Government called recently for an investigation.
Storey said if state investigators find that further investigation is warranted, he will appoint a special prosecutor.
Congrove could not be reached for comment Friday. But Commissioner Kevin McCasky said he takes the matter seriously.
“I had requested to see all the reports and documentation relating to any outside contractors that have been hired by the county attorney’s office,” McCasky said in a statement. “I want to know what outside contractors the attorney’s office is using or has used, and what their role is regarding any litigation the county is involved with.”
