Oprah Winfrey held a contest to find a host for a new show on her upcoming network — and a number of Coloradans threw their hats in the ring. CBS4’s Gloria Neal sent in a tape, as did a Boulder chocolatier, a Fort Collins bar owner and a Denver campfire cook.
But one video is causing a lot of angry Denver chatter.
Angela Mueller, wife of alleged Denver Ponzi-schemer Sean Mueller, sent in her own pitch (search “Angie Mueller” at to see it). Sean is accused by the state of running a Ponzi scheme worth more than $120 million. According to stories in The Denver Post, he threatened to kill himself in April after notifying clients they had lost their money in the alleged Ponzi scheme.
In the 3-minute audition, Angela greets you at the front door. “Come in . . . Isn’t this beautiful? My family’s been living a life that most people can only dream. But it hasn’t always been this way. I have an incredible story to share with you. It has a twist in the end.”
Angela chops carrots as she tells us how her family fled Vietnam, how she came to America and met her husband.
“Within a decade, my husband became incredibly successful,” she says. “We joined country clubs, took exciting family vacations, purchased fancy cars, and the houses just kept getting bigger and bigger. Life was good. Maybe too good.”
You got that right.
“When the market crashed, so did my husband’s business,” Angela continues. “We lost everything. Now it appears that I’ll be raising my two children on my own. That’s a story all to itself.”
Angela, who has not been implicated in the scheme, said to me by phone: “I know a lot of the investors are upset about the video, and I just didn’t think of that. I was lied to too. I was trying to be positive and move forward. I was trying to find work, I was grasping at straws. If I had known the repercussions of this video, I never would have done it. And I’m sorry that I did do it.”
Mondo.
Denver designer Mondo Guerra, 32, has been picked to compete against 16 others in “Project Runway, Season Eight.” The popular series debuts July 29 on Lifetime.
Guerra is the first Denver designer to be featured on the series. He won the Fashion Project at Tamarac Square in 2007 and Denver’s Style Wars in 2009.
At the time, he described his style this way: “I design for the kind of girl who wants to stand out and look super sexy yet still sophisticated.”
Palm Wednesday.
The Palm, Denver’s power-lunch headquarters, celebrated its 14th birthday Wednesday night. Three employees who’ve been there from the beginning were honored: Marco Ramirez, Shannon Strait, Todd McMahon.
Lotsa regulars made the party — but Josh Hanfling was in London. And many there were described as “old, tanned martini drinkers.”
City spirit.
Duane “Dog” Chapman and his wife, Beth, in town for a political funder last week, were spotted backstage at the Justin Bieber concert. . . . Sez who: “If you want your life to be more rewarding, you have to change the way you think.” Oprah Winfrey
Bill Husted’s column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Friday. You can reach him at 303-954-1486 or bhusted@denverpost.com. Take a peek at Husted’s next column at .
