CO sheriff detained in the very jail that bears his name

[82_28]

I grew up in this county of Colorado and have even spent the night in the Patrick J Sullivan Detention Facility. Known for his "right wing" (read stricter than most) approach to policing and incarceration he is now being subjected to the unthinkable -- for those who wouldn't have dreamed of out of all the dudes in the world doing something like this, one of them would be old Pat Sullivan. Arapahoe county btw, is one of Colorado's most populous, probably 500k or so.

Yes, it involves gay sex and meth. . .

This picture says it all and something I never expected to see.



Bail increased for former Arapahoe sheriff Pat Sullivan in sex-for-meth case

CENTENNIAL — After a brief huddle with a prosecutor and defense attorney, a judge this morning doubled the bond former Arapahoe County Sheriff Patrick Sullivan would have to post before release while awaiting trial on a drug charge.

Prosecutor Karen Pearson would not comment on why she sought to increase the bond from $250,000 to $500,000 and Judge William Sylvester offered no explanation. He issued a mandatory protection order preventing Sullivan from having contact with any potential witness in the case.

An investigative report filed in court in support of Sullivan's arrest says officers from the South Metro Drug Task Force, including Arapahoe deputies, used confidential informants and audio and video surveillance in the investigation.

According to the court papers:

After a complaint in early October to the Arapahoe sheriff's office that an "unwanted party" was at a home in Centennial, a deputy arrived and identified the person there as the former sheriff.

Agent Matt Hanagan of the drug task force was brought in to the case and asked two confidential informants who worked with the task force whether they thought they could purchase methamphetamine from Sullivan. Both of them said they had engaged in sex acts with Sullivan in the past and said they would be willing to ask him for meth in exchange for a sex act.

After several phone calls and text messages, Sullivan agreed to meet one of the men at an Aurora home and bring meth to exchange for sex.

Officers set up audio and video surveillance at the house and, Tuesday afternoon, Sullivan arrived and was seen to hand suspected meth to the informant.

He was taken into custody and officers found additional suspected meth — a total of 0.7 grams.

Sullivan was booked into the jail that bears his name on a charge of unlawful distribution, manufacturing, dispensing or sale of a controlled substance. The Class 5 felony carries a penalty of up to six years in prison.

During this morning's brief hearing, Judge Sylvester asked Sullivan if he had any questions, and Sullivan said no. He kept his head down and leaned on a cane through the proceedings. He was handcuffed and wore an orange jail jumpsuit. No members of his family appeared to be in the courtroom.

Sullivan's attorney, Kevin McGreevy, declined to comment.

Sullivan is being held in the Patrick J. Sullivan Jr. Detention Facility. He was sheriff from 1984 until his retirement in 2002.

Sullivan retired from law enforcement to become director of safety and security for Cherry Creek Schools in 2002, retiring from there in 2008.

Former Arapahoe County Commissioner Jim Dyer, who was not on the commission when Sullivan was sheriff, said Tuesday night he was shocked when told of the sheriff's arrest.

"I knew he had a distinguished career," Dyer said. "I think he was a good guy. That's shocking. I am absolutely astounded."

Steve Ward, a former county commissioner who worked with Sullivan, said he "couldn't be more shocked."

Former Arapahoe County District Attorney Jim Peters, who worked with Sullivan, said the allegations against the former sheriff are "totally out of character" for the man he knew and are "hard to believe."

"He was completely ethical, upright and honest," Peters said. "He just oozed honesty and integrity. He was an outstanding sheriff."

Carlo Illescas: 303-954-1175 or cillescas@denverpost.com.

http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_19439677

[Simulist]

Everyone is always so "shocked" — and they're even shocked when stuff like this happens to people who've spent a lifetime pretending to be righteous. But it's often people like that who have the most to hide.

Look. If someone seems to fit this description…

"He was completely ethical, upright and honest," Peters said. "He just oozed honesty and integrity. He was an outstanding sheriff."

…it's often just a matter of time.

[Elvis]

Sullivan retired from law enforcement to become director of safety and security for Cherry Creek Schools

I'm sure he oozed integrity the whole time.

[Harvey]

Everyone is always so "shocked" — and they're even shocked when stuff like this happens to people who've spent a lifetime pretending to be righteous. But it's often people like that who have the most to hide.

Look. If someone seems to fit this description…

"He was completely ethical, upright and honest," Peters said. "He just oozed honesty and integrity. He was an outstanding sheriff."

…it's often just a matter of time.

It's not only possible, but entirely easy for good people to wind up doing bad things. It just takes one blind spot, the right set of circumstances in the right order, and god knows how many people could be standing there, where he is.

I'm glad there are uncorruptables among us because it gives me hope, but I suspect most of us are not. And so when a better way is known to those of us capable of messing up, I guess we've learned the humility to also feel compassion.

[Simulist]

I'm glad there are uncorruptables among us because it gives me hope, but I suspect most of us are not.

I don't think there are any "uncorruptables" among us — just a lot of us who would like to be that, and a lot of us who pretend to be that, and a lot of people who are willing to believe in both kinds unreservedly.

And that's much of the problem, in my opinion.

Believing in ideals and trying to embody them is something I can respect. Believing in anyone, including oneself, as a full and persistent embodiment of those ideals is a perfect recipe for bitter disappointment.

[82_28]

I find it funny, "funny" I guess, that people on the comment stream at the various Colorado websites are calling Sullivan a "liberal" here and there, because he was marginally for some semblance of "gun control". Ah, the right wing and their tiresome red herrings.

[82_28]

I'm glad there are uncorruptables among us because it gives me hope, but I suspect most of us are not.

I don't think there are any "uncorruptables" among us — just a lot of us who would like to be that, and a lot of us who pretend to be that, and a lot of people who are willing to believe in both kinds unreservedly.

And that's much of the problem, in my opinion.

Believing in ideals and trying to embody them is something I can respect. Believing in anyone, including oneself, as a full and persistent embodiment of those ideals is a perfect recipe for bitter disappointment.

Here's what I think, simulist -- and you know I love you. But I am incorruptible, in the sense that I would never do anything to harm nor would I ever do anything to call into question my "legacy". I am who I am (I think we got a member round here who goes by that). But thing is, I don't really give a fuck about my legacy, I write it, proclaim it for myself and who I am. Secret ass sex shit with crazy fucking people in control of many other people locked up, incarcerated in an inescapable building that bears the man's name freaks me the fuck out. I don't get it. Now the motherfucker is there, stuck. As the sun sets on his life, the sun now sets on his accomplishments at making just about every teen in Arapahoe county's lives miserable circa 1990-2000. Again, I don't get it.

To think that any one of us could come under this absurdity late in life underscores the deep sickness that existed all along. What's happening to Sullivan, does not make me sad personally, but it makes me sad that it's so possible that a deep sadness exists in a head to head race to ultimate nihilism with the ideals of broke ass fucked America and those publicly held to those ideals.

I ran a search for crazy ass homosexual, pedophilic and other weird ass peccadilloes of the "straight" and influential through the archives, using many terms, and I don't know whether I'm using useless, post-dated search terms, but I've tried everything. Shit like this wasn't "reported" and if it was it was probably spoken of, written of, reported as, in different terms. Those terms being those that fully deceptively hid the true nature of almost all crime. When it comes to any kind of "sexual assault", "sex" this or that, it doesn't even appear in the reportage until about between 1971 and 1974. What this says to me is that everything for thousands of years has been simply swept under the rug of disbelief and on a need to know basis. And that all this has only become current for a reason beyond conventional wisdom's threshold.

[82_28]

Former sheriff's arrest in Colorado meth-for-sex case bewilders friends

Former Arapahoe County Sheriff Patrick Sullivan's arrest in a meth-for-sex case left longtime law officers at a loss for words Wednesday, though court records paint a picture of a man who has been living a double life.

Sullivan, 68, remained behind bars in a jail that bears his name, accused of trading methamphetamine for sex with a man Tuesday, a transaction monitored by deputies working with a confidential informant. During a brief morning court appearance Wednesday, a judge doubled his bail to $500,000.

The arrest of the married father and grandfather sparked shock — even bewilderment — among longtime law officers.

"It's very, very distressing," said Colorado's U.S. marshal, John Kammerzell.

Kammerzell has known Sullivan for 32 years — from his own time as sheriff in Rio Blanco County and from a six-year stretch when he headed the state sheriffs association.

Court records and interviews show that Sullivan had, for months and perhaps years, been associating with alleged drug users and putting himself in positions not expected from a man who as sheriff crusaded against drugs and semiautomatic weapons.

Wednesday evening, a man who owns a home in Centennial said Sullivan was a frequent visitor this year to the house, where he would consume drugs and have sex with young men living there.

He said Sullivan intimidated him.

"I couldn't get rid of these guys because this guy named Pat Sullivan said you are going to let them stay for free," Derek Hendrickson said. "He said I said they could stay for free and it would hold up in court, and said, 'Do you know who I am?' "

"He was telling me he has a jail named after him."

Arapahoe County Sheriff Grayson Robinson, who served under Sullivan and then succeeded him, said the investigation is complex and "very active."

A search Tuesday night of Sullivan's home, conducted after both the former sheriff and his wife
Patrick Sullivan, 68, appears in Arapahoe County Court on Wednesday after his arrest a day earlier. Others in law enforcement who have known Sullivan for years said they were shocked by the charges that the former lawman traded meth for sex. (RJ Sangosti, The Denver Post )
consented, led to the discovery of "a fairly large amount of adult homosexual pornography," Robinson said.

Possession of adult pornography is not illegal.

Formal charges are expected to be filed Monday against Sullivan, a law enforcement legend who left office after deciding not to run for a sixth term in 2002.

One of Sullivan's attorneys, Kevin McGreevy, declined to comment after the former sheriff's first court appearance.

Court documents in several other cases show that Sullivan in recent months had been associating with young men fighting an addiction to meth — and that when the former sheriff was questioned about it, he asserted he was working in a state drug-treatment program.

In one case, according to court documents, Sullivan held power of attorney for a young, adult man — and even cashed his Social Security checks for him.

"I am the police"

Those same documents also portray a bizarre scene in the lobby of the Patrick J. Sullivan Jr. Detention Facility in September, one in which the former sheriff tried to bail one of the men out of jail and threatened to file a complaint if he wasn't "released immediately."

At one point during that Sept. 21 confrontation, an Arapahoe County deputy asked Sullivan his name, according to court documents.

"Patrick J. Sullivan Jr.," the former sheriff allegedly said. "I'm the man this building is named after."

The day before, a man living in
Patrick Sullivan Jr. is pictured with then-Cherry Creek Schools Superintendent Monte Moses in 2002, when Sullivan announced he would retire as Arapahoe County sheriff. (Denver Post file )
the Centennial home threatened to call police because he believed Sullivan was leading his three roommates back to meth.

"If you want the police, I am the police," Sullivan allegedly said, according to court documents.

Former Boulder County Sheriff George Epp said he couldn't help but think of Ted Haggard​, the pastor of Colorado Springs' New Life Church who lost his ministry after being accused of trading meth for sex with a man.

"It's like an April Fools' joke or something, but it's not April 1st," Epp said.

Known as "Hollywood Pat" in some circles, Sullivan wasn't shy about stepping before the cameras. In one incident in 1989, he sped his Jeep into the line of fire to rescue a wounded deputy, then roared backward through a fence in a bold escape captured by television cameras.

After retiring as sheriff, Sullivan worked until 2008 as the head of security for Cherry Creek Schools. He resigned without giving a reason, and he was never the subject of allegations of wrongdoing, according to district spokeswoman Tustin Amole.

Sullivan's stunning fall from grace began with an incident in September in which sheriff's deputies were called by one of the tenants of the Centennial home, who accused the former sheriff of leading three of the men living there back to a life of drugs. That incident sparked the undercover investigation that led to Sullivan's arrest.

Restraining order, bond

But its roots stretch back to July 2010, when Sullivan filed a motion for a restraining order against a then-33-year-old disabled man.

Sullivan wrote in the motion that the man had been referred to him for help in applying for federal and state disability benefits. According to public records, the man, who had a 2009 arrest in Denver for drug possession, had been living with Sullivan and his wife for as long as four years.

But the relationship had turned volatile. Sullivan complained that the man refused to get out of bed to go to a meeting at social services, swore at Sullivan and his wife, and physically assaulted Sullivan, both that day and on a previous occasion at an Englewood motel.

The restraining order was granted, but by September of this year, the two were spending time together again — though the younger man apparently had moved into the Centennial home with three other men.

One of those roommates called 911 that month and said "an old guy" was trying to get his roommates back into drugs and had been smoking methamphetamine with them, according to a police report.

The disabled man said his Social Security checks were cashed by Sullivan, who then took him shopping.

Sullivan later told detectives he is on a meth drug task force and helps recovering addicts get clean, according to another report. He also said he worked for the state health department's drug-treatment office.

Mark Salley, a spokesman for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, said there is no record of Sullivan having worked there.

The disabled man was arrested that night for violating the restraining order. The next day, Sullivan filed a motion to dismiss the order, saying he "has had peaceful contact" with the man.

Sullivan later went to the Arapahoe County jail to post a $750 bond for the man, sparking the strange confrontation with deputies in which he threatened to file a complaint and noted the detention center bore his name.

Brushes with law

Sullivan has also had other minor brushes with the law in recent years, according to court records.

In February 2008, he was cited for speeding in Denver's Cheesman Park, a regular meeting spot for gay men. And in June, Denver police pulled him over after he pulled away from a red light at the intersection of Speer Boulevard and West Colfax Avenue — a traffic stop that occurred at 3:35 a.m. on a Saturday.

Epp, the former Boulder County sheriff, thought he knew Sullivan well. Wednesday, he wasn't so sure.

"That's the question I asked myself when I saw the story come out: Did I know him?" Epp said.

Denver Post staff writer Felisa Cardona and librarian Vickie Makings contributed to this report.

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_19445308

[82_28]

Surveillance video shows ex-sheriff Sullivan delivering meth, viewing porn before arrest

An undercover surveillance video shows former Arapahoe County Sheriff Patrick Sullivan Jr. delivering methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia to two men at an Aurora home on the day he was arrested by sheriff's deputies.

The video capturing Sullivan's activity was released to the public Wednesday, a day after he pleaded guilty to felony possession of methamphetamine and soliciting for prostitution.

Sullivan, 69, was sentenced to 30 days in jail, two years of probation and a $1,100 fine.

The video was taken Nov. 29, when Sullivan showed up at a home where two men, confidential police informants, were waiting for him to deliver drugs in exchange for sex.

When he arrived, he handed one of the men a T-shirt and a muscle shirt as a gift, the video shows.

Sullivan takes off his baseball cap and a vest, and he lies down on a bed.

"Is it OK if I get comfortable?" he asks the informant.

As Sullivan sprawls out across the bed, he watches pornography on a portable DVD player he brought with him.

Sullivan tells one of the informants that the DVD is one he will enjoy.

"It's all young guys," Sullivan says.

The informant takes drug paraphernalia and methamphetamine out of a bag and asks Sullivan whether he consumed any of it.

"No," Sullivan says. "It's a social issue; why smoke by yourself?"

After a few moments, deputies raid the bedroom and put handcuffs on Sullivan.

As he is being arrested, Sullivan tells a deputy he has a "bad leg" and asks him not to break it.

Deputy Attorney General Michael Dougherty, who prosecuted the case, said Sullivan used his position as a former sheriff to gain the confidence of gay men who were methamphetamine users and brought them gifts to manipulate them.

Sullivan is serving his sentence in the county jail that is named after him.

http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ ... ering-meth

What a goofball. How you even get into meth and a fetish for porn with meth doing dudes especially as an ex high profile sheriff will always be beyond any kind of understanding I can possibly muster.

Video at link.

[AlicetheKurious]

Once somebody goes around saying things like, "I am the police," and using the fact that a building is named after them to circumvent the rules, the odds go through the roof, that they will do really, really bad things.

[brekin]

I think sometimes in situations like this people of authority with connections tend to have protectors who squash investigations like this.
Over time though these protected people can become liabilities and they are fed to the machine when they become too much of
a bother or run afoul of their protectors, or their is a shuffling of the deck.

I doubt this is new behavior for the sheriff and he probably was untouchable for years. His influence, protection and corruption
bred incompetence and a brazenness which probably made him have many close calls over the years. I'm sure many of his inner
circle were less shocked then the rest. And honestly he sounds like the type of Sheriff who would be very easy to keep in ones
pocket. "Now, Pat don't forget about that video we got of you."

[vogonpoet]

hoist on his own petard was never more appropriate. However, let us remember that this involved consensual sex (albeit prostitution) between adults - and a felony (which *will* become a slap on the wrist) for 0.7 grams of a drug which again, would have been consumed by a consenting adult. Admittedly, it's not a very positive drug, but ... a felony? If the person involved was, say, Julian Assange, would we feel differently about this?

Assange does not do such things of course - I'm just creating a hypothetical situation. I am not involved in any of the above shenanigans either, but I support peoples' right to choose their experience in life as long as they don't hurt others.

(Hi from a long time lurker!)

[brekin]

vogonpoet wrote:

hoist on his own petard was never more appropriate. However, let us remember that this involved consensual sex (albeit prostitution) between adults - and a felony (which *will* become a slap on the wrist) for 0.7 grams of a drug which again, would have been consumed by a consenting adult. Admittedly, it's not a very positive drug, but ... a felony? If the person involved was, say, Julian Assange, would we feel differently about this?

Assange does not do such things of course - I'm just creating a hypothetical situation. I am not involved in any of the above shenanigans either, but I support peoples' right to choose their experience in life as long as they don't hurt others.

(Hi from a long time lurker!)

Good point vogonpoet and welcome. I think because the Sheriff's career was spent locking up people who engaged in the same behavior he did, that is why I feel differently.
Also because from accounts on this thread it sounds like he was pretty aggressive on law and order and flagrant in his own disregard of it for his own benefit. So I think that is the rub, not the crimes themselves. Although I think someone in law and enforcement who has seen the damage meth can do to people is pretty vile when they turn around and use it as a
bargaining chip on recovering addicts for their own peccadilloes.

I guess it would very roughly be similar to Assange turning around and suppressing leaks that could inform the public for his own personal gain.

[Marie Laveau]

Everyone is always so "shocked" — and they're even shocked when stuff like this happens to people who've spent a lifetime pretending to be righteous. But it's often people like that who have the most to hide.

Look. If someone seems to fit this description…

"He was completely ethical, upright and honest," Peters said. "He just oozed honesty and integrity. He was an outstanding sheriff."

…it's often just a matter of time.

It's not only possible, but entirely easy for good people to wind up doing bad things. It just takes one blind spot, the right set of circumstances in the right order, and god knows how many people could be standing there, where he is.

I'm glad there are uncorruptables among us because it gives me hope, but I suspect most of us are not. And so when a better way is known to those of us capable of messing up, I guess we've learned the humility to also feel compassion.

This ^ is ridiculous.

How many people do you know, with the past this guy supposedly had, would just "happen" to find himself in the position of being will male prostitutes and meth. "Oh, gee, how the hell did I get here? Well, instead of LEAVING ----- SINCE I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA HOW IN THE WORLD I CAME TO BE IN A PLACE WITH MALE PROSTITUTES AND METH (!!!!!), I might as well stick around and have me some."

EFFFING BULLSHIT!

[chump]

Once somebody goes around saying things like, "I am the police," and using the fact that a building is named after them to circumvent the rules, the odds go through the roof, that they will do really, really bad things.