A 22-member task force will handle the expanding investigation into former Sheriff Pat Sullivan’s alleged meth-for-sex case, Arapahoe County Sheriff Grayson Robinson said Thursday.
The task force will include people from multiple jurisdictions. A 24-hour hotline also will be opened to gather tips from the public.
The expanded size of the task force is “a reflection of the complexity of what we are dealing with and the potential not only for additional charges but possibly other people,” Robinson said.
He has not announced which agencies will be involved or the person appointed to lead the task force.
In addition to the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office, Denver police and the South Metro Drug Task Force already have been working on the case. Lance Clem, spokesman for the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, said Thursday that the CBI also will be part of the larger task force.
Sullivan, 68, served as Arapahoe County sheriff from 1984 until his retirement in 2002, becoming one of metro Denver’s most visible and respected law enforcement officers.
He was arrested Nov. 29 after police said he tried to exchange meth with a confidential informant who he believed was a gay prostitute.
He is charged with felony possession of methamphetamine, distribution of methamphetamine, attempting to influence a public servant and misdemeanor solicitation of a prostitute.
On Tuesday, he posted $50,000 bond and was released from jail.
Robinson also said Thursday that the task-force chief will report to him and that he has taken steps to ensure the investigation of his former boss is fair and transparent.
“I’m not going to distance myself from my responsibilities,” he said.
Questions about whether Robinson had a conflict in the case arose during a testy exchange earlier this week between the sheriff and the Centennial City Council.
An anonymous council member, through the city attorney, asked whether a special investigator should be appointed to lead the case because members of the public may be fearful of talking with investigators from Sullivan’s former department.
Robinson, whose agency provides law enforcement services in Centennial, took issue with the council member’s wish to remain anonymous and made his dissatisfaction known.
“I expect a little different treatment,” Robinson told the council, according to an audio recording of the meeting. “I expect openness, I expect transparency, and I expect people to come forward and talk to me directly so we can have an adult, meaningful conversation.”
Robinson said Thursday that he chose people for the task force who “have a greater purpose here than being sad (about Sullivan), and that’s serving our community.”
He also chose those who share his philosophy that no one is above the law, he said.
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Sara Burnett: 303-954-1661 or sburnett@denverpost.com
