May 12, 2008 6:34 pm US/Mountain
Denver Officer Admits Fixing Ticket For Prosecutor
Written by investigative reporter Brian Maass
DENVER (CBS4) ―
An assistant Denver city attorney has resigned and a Denver police officer has been disciplined after the he admitted "fixing" a speeding ticket for the prosecutor's boyfriend. The Denver City Attorney's Office says Dani Eliscu resigned March 17 after being confronted about the ticket fixing.
"That is not okay, not acceptable and unethical to do anything like that," said Vince DiCroce, Director of Prosecution for the Denver City Attorney's Office.
The incident began Feb. 18 when Denver Police Department Traffic Officer James Gates issued a speeding ticket at 6th Avenue and Kalamath to Jeremy Rosenthal, Eliscu's boyfriend.
According to the sworn statement from Officer Gates, Rosenthal "told me his wife worked for the City Attorney's Office and she was a prosecutor. He asked if that changed anything." The statement and other information were obtained by CBS4 under a Colorado Open Records Act request.
Gates said he told Rosenthal if Rosenthal's wife was indeed a city prosecutor, she would know where to find the officer. He then issued the speeding ticket.
Gates wrote that later the same morning, he received a call from Eliscu saying the officer had ticketed her husband and "she asked if I could help her out. I then did as I would have done for any prosecutor and destroyed the ticket due to the relationship and the close working we do with the prosecution. I would have done this for anyone of them. She told me not to tell anyone because she would get in trouble if anyone found out."
"It is completely unacceptable," said prosecution supervisor DiCroce. "No prosecutor should be treated differently because of their position as a prosecutor. It is not standard operating procedure. The attorneys here are very ethical and there are clear ethical boundaries. This was wrong and inappropriate."
The ticket fixing, and the suggestion that this happens regularly, was troubling to Elena Nunez of Colorado Common Cause, a government watchdog group.
"Everyone should be treated equally under the law," said Nunez. "And to give one set of people special treatment means we are not treated equally under the law. It just raises the question of how the law is applied."
DPD issued a written reprimand to Gates last month for engaging in "conduct prejudicial" and "conduct unbecoming an officer."
According to DiCroce of the city attorney's office, Eliscu resigned after he confronted her about the ticket fixing.
It was not the first time she was accused of using her power to avoid prosecution. In 2007, the City Attorney's Office reprimanded Eliscu after she attempted to use her position to get out of tickets for having her dogs running loose in a park.
Eliscu did not respond to requests for comment, but her attorney, Phil Cherner, said, "Ms. Eliscu did nothing wrong in any shape or fashion." Cherner declined to answer any questions.
Her boyfriend, Jeremy Rosenthal, wrote a cease and desist letter to CBS4 last Friday, threatening legal action after learning the story would be made public.
"This story is false and publishing any part of it would irreparably injure the reputation of Ms. Eliscu or me."
He did not specify what parts of the officer's account were false.
His letter went on to say, "Ms. Eliscu has damaging information about the city and city personnel and this is an attempt to damage Ms. Eliscu's credibility. It is also an attempt to retaliate against Ms. Eliscu for disclosures that she has already made."
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