A former Regional Transportation District board member accused of misusing union funds for his campaign will not be prosecuted.
Adams County District Attorney Don Quick concluded an investigation of Kenneth Riley, who resigned from the board in October, with a report Tuesday that evidence gathered “is insufficient to support the filing of criminal charges.”
He found that Riley’s campaign had paid for its own campaign materials, that employees of his union — the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees — had worked for several campaigns, not just his, and that an alleged misappropriation of postage stamps could not be proven.
Quick added, however, that the practices of Riley’s campaign and his union chapter “presented obstacles to our investigation’s goal of discovering exactly what happened in the 2010 election. For example, the lack of separate accounting for postage and employee-campaign hours prohibited a determination as to their exact use.”
Riley said he was confident of the outcome.
“I’m just happy to move on with my life,” he said. “This was an attack on my character, and I’m happy to be vindicated.”
The investigation began after Teia Wadkins, an assistant to Riley at a chapter of the AFSCME, told investigators Riley was diverting union money to his campaign.
She alleged that Riley spent $3,300 of union money on his personal campaign, that union employees worked on his campaign during evenings and weekends, and that $9,100 of union money was spent on campaign postage stamps.
The investigation concluded that the campaign had paid for its own materials from a graphics contractor, but it was unclear who used how many stamps during a time when the local chapter was discouraged from using AFSCME International’s postage meter.
“Our role was to determine whether the existing evidence supported criminal charges,” Quick wrote. “We conclude it does not.”
David Olinger: 303-954-1498 or dolinger@denverpost.com
