Author: Christopher Osher
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Marijuana biz that pitched plans to become “largest” in U.S. built through fraud, theft and deceit, lawsuit alleges
A lucrative network of marijuana dispensaries and grow facilities that attracted the attention of national media profiling Colorado’s new pot barons was built with money stolen from investors in a fraudulent fix and flip real estate scheme hatched in Colorado Springs, a lawsuit claims. Those allegedly victimized include an elderly woman, who has since died,…
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El Paso County jail staff, inmates cite lack of masks in COVID-19 outbreak that became one of the largest in the state
Eight months into the pandemic and four months after the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office received up to $15.6 million in COVID-19 relief funds, the county jail became the site of one of the state’s largest coronavirus outbreaks, with staff and inmates stating that they were not given adequate equipment to protect themselves. The more than…
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Turf wars foil $50 million federal firefighting coordination program
Faced with the onset of devastating wildfires and their rising costs, federal officials 19 years ago announced an ambitious plan to create a new data-driven approach they said would blunt fire’s dreadful impact on the Western landscape. Colorado Watch The solution: A sophisticated computer program that would redirect resources across the country. That program would…
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Anadarko whistleblower at the center of massive investor fraud lawsuit finding new life in Colorado
Executives with Anadarko Petroleum, the largest oil and gas driller in Colorado over the last decade, cashed out millions of dollars in stock holdings while suppressing internal reports from company engineers who warned they were misleading investors about the value of a new oil field in the Gulf of Mexico, newly unsealed court documents allege.…
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Lawsuit alleges USA Taekwondo failed to take action after star coach allegedly raped teen national champ
Colorado Springs-based USA Taekwondo executives took no action against a star coach who allegedly raped and sexually abused a teenage national champion, telling the girl they could not help her because the rapes took place overseas during tournaments, a lawsuit filed Tuesday states. The coach, Jin Suh, was named the USA Taekwondo coach of the…
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Lawsuit claims El Pomar engaged in illegal lobbying to kill El Paso County quarry proposal
A lawsuit filed this week against the El Pomar Foundation accuses the nonprofit of violating state law by secretly lobbying members of then Gov. John Hickenlooper’s staff to kill a controversial proposal for a granite quarry south of Colorado Springs, reducing the property owner’s potential income. The lawsuit filed on behalf of the RMBC Group,…
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Olympic reform legislation meant to address sexual abuse culture passes U.S. Senate
The U.S. Senate on Tuesday unanimously passed Olympic reform legislation that will demand greater accountability from the Colorado Springs-based U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee and is meant to transform a culture that has allowed sexual abuse of athletes like that perpetrated by Dr. Larry Nassar to proliferate. Both U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner, a Republican of…
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Colorado board that writes rules for management of sex offenders rife with conflicts, state audit finds
Members of a state board that writes the rules for how Colorado sex offenders are supervised voted on policy revisions that benefited their firms, which held state contracts worth millions of dollars annually, according to a scathing performance audit the state auditor released Tuesday. The audit further found that most of the standards the Sex…
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‘Backdoor’ lobbying effort to kill Hitch Rack Ranch quarry in El Paso County may have violated law
Officials in then Gov. John Hickenlooper’s administration helped an influential Colorado Springs nonprofit privately lobby a member of the state mining board to kill plans for a granite quarry, setting up a secret briefing that legal experts described as a potential violation of state law and that proponents of the quarry believe doomed their chances…
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Colorado nursing homes — with residents dying amid coronavirus outbreaks — struggled to meet protocols, inspections show
Even as their residents succumbed to the coronavirus, nursing homes in Colorado hit with outbreaks struggled to adhere to basic infection-control protocols, such as hand washing and the wearing of masks, according to special, ramped-up inspections launched by the state. The state cited more than half of the nursing homes with outbreaks for deficient infection-control…