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Former Denver DA Employee Suspected Of Fraud

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Sep 30, 2009 9:55 pm US/Mountain

Former Denver DA Employee Suspected Of Fraud

Written by Brian Maass

DENVER (CBS4) ― A former supervisor at the Denver District Attorney's Office is suspected of being involved in the torching of his car and then sending himself an anonymous, threatening letter to divert attention away from himself.

Michael Taiwan Smith, 31, is suspected of involvement in torching his own car then sending himself an anonymous, threatening letter to divert attention away from himself.

"I have nothing to do with it," said Smith, who had been employed at the Denver District Attorney's Office since 2004.

Smith resigned from the District Attorney's Office on Sept. 3, four months after he became the focus of a criminal investigation.

But the resignation "was not related to any criminal investigation," according to Lynn Kimbrough, spokesperson for the Denver district attorney. Smith was the acting supervisor in the district attorney's Juvenile Diversion Unit and supervised five people.

The CBS4 investigation found that Smith's 2006 Kia Spectra was found burning in a field near Bennett in May. Smith told responding officers the car must have been stolen from outside his Aurora home, where it had been parked.

Five days later, an anonymous letter arrived at Smith's office. "I will get you," read the typed note inside the envelope. "I got your car LOL. You sent me back to court."

Investigators began combing through Smith's past clients, trying to determine which one might have torched his car and then sent him the threatening letter.

Investigators say Smith helped identify clients who might have been responsible for the arson and follow-up letter. But investigators soon came to believe that Smith sent himself the anonymous note.

According to investigative documents filed in the case, Smith's assistant told investigators the handwriting on the envelope was "identical" to Smith's. His co-workers also reported that when Smith was shown the envelope and letter, "Smith acted as if he knew the contents of the envelope before looking at the letter."

There were additional red flags that focused suspicion on Smith. He filed for bankruptcy earlier this year and told colleagues he had stopped making payments on his home and it was being foreclosed on. He also admitted being "upside down" on his car loan. That is, he owed more on the car than it was worth. Additionally, Allstate insurance reported paying Smith $9,398.36 for his stolen car.

Due to the potential for an appearance of conflict of interest, the Denver District Attorney's Office has asked Jefferson County prosecutors to act as a special prosecutor on the case. They are investigating possible charges related to false reporting. Smith has told investigators much the same that he told CBS4 -- that he did not author the threat letter and was not involved in the arson.

"I promise you it ain't me," Smith told one investigator. "If you're trying to say I did it, I didn't. I promise I didn't."

But investigators, armed with a court order, obtained DNA from Smith, which they say matches DNA from the letter. One investigator termed the sequence of events "highly suspicious."

Smith has not been charged although investigators are continuing to probe the suspicious arson and threat letter.

(© MMIX CBS Television Stations, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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