Former Jeffco Treasurer Mark Paschall on Trial Again

The Denver Post reports on Round 2 of former Jeffco Treasurer Mark Paschall's trial for allegedly soliciting a kickback from his former secretary.

For the second time in six months, former Jefferson County Treasurer Mark Paschall is on trial for allegedly soliciting a kickback from a former top aide.

Paschall, 54, was acquitted of attempted theft in February. The jury deadlocked on a charge of receiving compensation for past official behavior, and the Jefferson County district attorney's office decided to re-try Paschall on that charge.

In opening statements Tuesday, prosecutor Sean Phillips said Paschall offered an $18,000 bonus to his political appointee, Kathy Redmond, shortly before he left office in late 2006.

Paschall twice solicited Redmond to split the "ridiculous-sized bonus" with him, Phillips said.

Redmond testified in the first trial that she reported the alleged offer to Jefferson County Commissioner Jim Congrove, who notified District Attorney Scott Storey.

Last month, Congrove asked Storey to drop the charge. Storey refused.

Paschall's attorney, David Lane, said the case is about political payback, not a kickback.

"At no time did he solicit a kickback," Lane told jurors.

Congrove and Paschall were political allies from when both served in the state legislature, Lane said.

When Paschall was elected Jefferson County treasurer in 2002, he made Congrove a political appointee in his office.

Lane said a "major blowout" occurred between the two men when Congrove, who was elected commissioner in 2003, became angry when Paschall would not reveal his testimony to a grand jury that was investigating Congrove. The grand jury failed to reach a decision.

I've been walking neighborhoods throughout Jefferson County since January, and people are (justifiably) tired of this nonsense. I'm running for Jefferson County Commissioner to help put a stop to this incestuous culture of corruption that had turned Jeffco government into a veritable circus. We need elected officials who are more interested in the business of running the county than in playing their own political games with each other.

Help me to make this change by voting for Jason Bane in November. In the meantime, please sign up to volunteer, to take a yard sign, or to make a donation at www.JasonBane.org.

Developers: 2, Jefferson County Citizens: 0

I was quoted in Saturday's Rocky Mountain News in a story about Commissioner Kevin McCasky's curious decisions to ignore the pleas of hundreds of Jeffco residents in order to approve controversial rezoning cases that favored developer friends:

Jefferson County Commissioner Kevin McCasky said at a recent hearing that he had no connection to a developer whose project he approved.

But the developer contributed $500 to his 2004 election campaign, and angry homeowners have raised questions about a possible conflict of interest in this and another controversial project. McCasky said he doesn't recall the contribution in 2004 or whether there have been any since, but he said contributions have no effect on his decisions…

… Disgruntled residents urged McCasky to recuse himself from the vote June 10, saying his ties to developers presented a conflict of interest.

At the time, McCasky said, "I have no connection to Shea Homes or Colorado Christian University. I made an independent, unbiased decision in this case."

But campaign contribution records show Peter Culshaw, of Shea Homes, made a $500 contribution to McCasky's election campaign in 2004. The commissioner also drew fire over his vote in May to approve a controversial expansion of the Rock South Baptist Church in Littleton.

Among the critics is Jason Bane, a Democratic candidate for commissioner.

"It's not the amount of the money," Bane said. "It is the issue of trying to lie about the fact that you have these connections. I have a vested interest, obviously, but I also think this is wrong."

"I think the real shame in all of this is that the will of the people is completely ignored," he said

"The Lords of Payback" Show Yet Again Why Jeffco Needs New Leadership

Westword ran a great in-depth story about the ridiculous efforts by Jeffco officials to attack a private citizen:

Since Congrove and two other commissioners took office in 2005, the board and the county attorney's office have been the targets of numerous ethics complaints and law-enforcement investigations, most of them revolving around alleged retaliation against Zinna. The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office spent months puzzling over the disappearance of 8,000 pages of Zinna-related documents from the county attorney's office. The Arvada Police Department and a grand jury looked at possible bank fraud after someone forged Zinna's name on documents dealing with business transactions involving Congrove. A special prosecutor and the CBI poked around the hiring of a private investigator to tail Zinna. But while the investigations have uncovered what one prosecutor calls "troubling" behavior, to date no one has been charged with doing anything illegal.

I'd strongly encourage you to read the entire article - it is truly frightening to see what can happen when elected officials decide to embark on a vendetta against a private citizen.