The scope of the inquiry into the Colorado Convention Center scandal now includes state authorities, according to Mayor Michael Hancock.
Attorney General Phil Weiser’s office has “leaned in” to help determine whether there was any criminal wrongdoing during the development process for the $233 million expansion of the public facility, Hancock said in an interview with The Denver Post.
Denver leaders in December announced that they suspected two private companies — Trammell Crow and Mortenson — had corrupted the development process. They accused Trammell Crow, the city’s management company, of leaking sensitive information, and contractor Mortenson of receiving it, during the competition for a lucrative contract to expand the convention center.
“It’s in the hands of the district attorney and the state attorney general to determine if they’ll bring charges right now,” Hancock said.
The involvement of the state AG could signal a more intense inquiry.
“The takeaway is, the more agencies are involved, the more smoke there is,” said Jason Schall, a former federal prosecutor who isn’t involved in the matter. District attorneys may call in state authorities if they’re “unsure how deep the rabbit-hole runs,” he said.
The attorney general’s office includes numerous criminal investigation units, including a financial fraud team and a “special prosecutions” team that handles complex cases.
The Denver District Attorney’s Office referred a reporter to the attorney general’s office. An attorney general’s spokesperson said that, by policy, the office does not confirm its involvement with inquiries or investigations. The Colorado Bureau of Investigation, a separate agency, is not involved with the inquiry, according to a spokesperson.
The city has fired Trammell Crow and moved to bar Mortenson from public work in Denver. Denver’s internal staff now will take over management the project, which is halfway designed and still needs a construction contractor, Hancock said.
Trammell Crow and Mortenson have promised their cooperation with the inquiry. Trammell Crow has fired one high-ranking executive involved in the case, while Mortenson has appealed a separate city action to bar it from receiving public business. In a letter, it claimed that multiple companies received “allegedly objectionable information” and that Trammell Crow was the one “in a position of authority over Mortenson.”
Meanwhile, no one has publicly explained the addition of an unauthorized executive boardroom to the convention center plans.
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