The most contentious issue from last year’s race for governor resurfaced Thursday when federal authorities charged a veteran immigration agent with unlawfully accessing a government computer to find information later used by Republican Bob Beauprez’s campaign.
Cory Voorhis, 38, was charged in Denver federal court with three misdemeanor counts of exceeding his authorized access to a government computer by retrieving “criminal histories of various individuals.” He was immediately suspended by the immigrations and customs agency.
The charge, which records show is rarely filed, pushed the issue of illegal immigration and the rivalry between Beauprez and Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter back onto the front burner.
“This just seems like kind of a tragedy. He thought he saw a big injustice and wanted to do something about it,” said Beauprez.
Neither Beauprez nor his campaign has ever confirmed that Voorhis was the source of information used in a campaign ad against Ritter. Beauprez on Thursday declined to answer that question.
The ad claimed that during Ritter’s tenure as Denver district attorney, an illegal immigrant charged with heroin possession was allowed to plea to agricultural trespassing.
His was one of several plea bargains approved by Ritter that prevented the deportation of illegal and legal immigrants charged with drug, assault and other crimes.
After receiving probation, the man went on to commit a sex crime in California, according to the ad.
Ritter was unable to verify the ad’s claim. He demanded a criminal investigation into the source of the information, which he said would be available only to law enforcement.
“As a former prosecutor, Gov. Ritter always believed this incident involved a very clear violation of law and breach of the public trust,” Ritter spokesman Evan Dreyer said Thursday. “These charges only reinforce that belief, and the legal process must now move ahead.”
No plea deal
Voorhis’ attorney, William Taylor, said that his client looks forward to defending himself in court and is not planning to take a plea deal.
“Mr. Voorhis has honorably served and defended the security of our country for 17 years – in uniform and as a federal agent,” said Taylor, who specializes in government investigations at the Denver law firm Holland & Hart. “He stands by his actions in continuing support for this mission.”
Rarely does access to the data rise to the level of criminal prosecution. From 2002 to October 2006, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation looked into 259 cases of possible database misuse by state and federal employees, records show.
Of the 146 cases found to be valid, only 5 percent were referred to prosecutors for possible criminal charges. What happened to those cases is unknown, since the CBI is prohibited from releasing confidential employee information.
The Denver DA’s office recalled a similar prosecution last occurring in 1993, when employees used the information in a for-profit scheme. Jefferson County and the U.S. attorney’s office in Colorado could not recall any cases being brought.
Although the charges against Voorhis come a year after the investigation started, former Colorado U.S. Attorney Bill Leone said that is “not an unreasonably long period of time.”
Central issue in race
The issue of Ritter’s plea bargains and Voorhis’ actions became a central one in the governor’s race as Voorhis was portrayed on one side as a heroic whistle-blower and on the other as a law enforcement officer whose abuse of the system turned him into a criminal.
Voorhis, a registered Republican, had no public association with the Beauprez campaign.
Among other things, Voorhis headed a five-year investigation – which resulted in a federal indictment – of the leader of a Mexican crime family that authorities said controlled one of the largest-ever document forgery rings in the U.S.
If convicted, Voorhis faces up to a year in prison and a fine of up to $100,000 on each count.
Karen Crummy: 303-954-1594 or kcrummy@denverpost.com
