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Computer had 'massive' porn stash, official affidavit says

Sue Lindsay, Rocky Mountain News

Published June 14, 2007 at midnight

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The laptop computer that former District Judge Larry Manzanares is charged with stealing contains the baffling contradictions that surround his fall from the city's power elite: jury instructions and legal documents stored along with numerous pornographic images and videos.

Manzanares, 50, was charged Wednesday with felony theft, embezzlement of public property, tampering with physical evidence, official misconduct and computer crime, charges that carry penalties of up to six years in prison.

The Harvard Law School graduate, who was sworn in as Denver's city attorney two months before resigning in disgrace Feb. 27, turned himself in to police and was released on a personal recognizance bond. He could not be reached for comment Wednesday evening.

"Larry Manzanares is a human being with an extraordinary reputation as a good lawyer, judge, public servant, husband, father, son and friend," said his lawyer, Gary Lozow.

"There is no adult who has not exercised bad judgment or made a mistake in their lifetime. Whether he exercised good judgment in buying a used computer isn't at issue. When the judicial system addresses the real question — whether he broke the law, we know he'll be treated fairly. It would be inappropriate to comment any further," Lozow said.

Lozow said he could not comment on the pornographic videos the arrest affidavit states were found on the computer.

Lozow said he failed in an attempt to get the affidavit sealed to give him time to review it before it was made public. "I'm dealing with this at the same time you are," he said.

Mayor John Hickenlooper's office issued a statement: "These charges begin the proceedings in the criminal justice system, and it is important we allow that process to take its course through Jefferson County's impartial investigation. We can only imagine what a difficult time this is for Larry Manzanares and his family."

'Massive deletions'

A Denver district judge since 1998, Manzanares was sworn in as Denver city attorney Jan. 4. Mayor John Hickenlooper appointed him to the post in November.

Manzanares dumped "massive" amounts of pornography from the computer hours after he was questioned by police mid-February, according to an arrest affidavit.

The affidavit tells this series of events after the laptop was reported missing from a storage area in the City and County Building on Jan. 26:

Police tracked the stolen laptop to Manzanares' home using theft- detection software.

When confronted by police and Denver court administrator Miles Flesche in his office on Feb. 15, he denied having the computer.

Then Manzanares wondered if the stolen court laptop had been confused with a city laptop he said he was issued when he became city attorney.

Manzanares said the city laptop was at his home and he would give police the serial number when he returned home.

Flesche told investigators that it didn't seem to make sense that Manzanares would steal a computer, but his explanation of why it was tracked to his residence "didn't quite seem right."

Manzanares left his office at noon, and shortly after that, "massive deletions" of sexually explicit images, along with the "recycle bin," were made from the stolen computer. Also deleted was an icon that identified the computer as belonging to the state court administrator's office.

The next day, Manzanares showed up in Flesche's office with the $1,579 laptop, and told him that he had bought it from an unidentified man in a parking lot near City Hall who had first offered to sell him audio speakers. He said he paid him $300.

'Big mistake'

He said he bought the computer for his son who was in college, although investigators determined that the boy was given a new laptop when he began college in 2005.

Manzanares told Flesche it was "stupid" and that he realized "a couple of weeks ago" that the computer might be stolen because it contained "judicial software."

Flesche said Manzanares told him, "I panicked. I didn't know what to do."

After turning in the computer, Manzanares misled investigators about the correct password to access the computer.

When Manzanares was put on a leave of absence Feb. 23, he commented to Sue Cobb in the mayor's office that he had made a "big mistake" and that "this could be the end of my career."

Allegations that Manzanares received preferential treatment were ignited after Carol Haller, legal counsel for the state court administrator's office, urged Denver police on Feb. 20 not to prosecute Manzanares.

Deputy district attorney Geanne R. Moroye initially decided to drop the case, but her superiors reversed the decision after learning that Manzanares was involved. Moroye resigned several weeks after the case had been presented to her, Lynn Kimbrough, district attorney spokeswoman, said.

However, the district attorney's office said it could not comment on whether Moroye's resignation was related to the Manzanares case.

The Denver DA's office eventually turned the case over to a special prosecutor in Jefferson County to avoid the appearance of conflict of interest.

Manzanares' background

• 1979: Graduated from the University of Denver.

• 1982: Graduated from Harvard Law School and entered private practice.

• 1982-1992: Practiced corporate law and commercial litigation.

• 1992: Appointed as Denver County Court judge.

• 1998: Appointed to the Denver District Court bench.

• June 2006: Recipient of the Judicial Excellence Award given by the Denver Bar Association.

• Jan. 4, 2007: Sworn in as Denver city attorney.

• Jan. 26: State court administrator worker reports $1,579 laptop computer missing from Denver City and County Building.

• Jan. 31: Theft detection software installed in the missing laptop sends notification to an electronic monitoring center that the computer is logged on to the Internet, recording the Internet Protocol address.

Timeline of case

• Feb. 7: Denver County Court judge issues a search warrant granting Denver police access to Comcast records that identify the subscriber through the IP address.

• Feb. 15: Police interview Manzanares.

• Feb. 16: Manzanares returns the laptop to Denver District Court. Police ask the state court administrator if the agency wants the case prosecuted. The agency asks for time to review the computer.

• Feb. 20: Carol Haller, legal counsel for the state court administrator's office, asks Denver police not to prosecute anyone for the laptop theft "at this time."

• Feb. 21: In light of Haller's request, a deputy district attorney initially decides she can drop the case, but her superiors reverse the decision after learning that Manzanares is the suspect.

• Feb. 23: Mayor John Hickenlooper puts Manzanares on leave after being contacted by a Denver's 7 reporter. The station breaks the story about Manzanares having the stolen laptop in his possession that night.

• Feb. 27: Manzanares resigns.Sources: State Court Administrator'S Office, Denver Police Reports, Court Documents, City Of Denver, News Reports

Affidavit details content of stolen computer

• (Denver) Detective Robert Lawrence related that upon meeting with Lawrence Manzanares, he . . . explained that a search warrant had been obtained identifying that the stolen computer had been used from his residence. According to Detective Lawrence's report, Lawrence Manzanares denied having a computer belonging to the state of Colorado. Lawrence Manzanares did explain that he still checked his "district court e-mail address" but added he had actually turned in the computer he was issued from the state when he vacated the bench. Detective Lawrence, along with Miles Flesche (district court administrator for the 2nd Judicial District), further explained to Lawrence Manzanares that the stolen computer had "Computrace software" installed in the system and on Feb. 2, 2007, records through "Comcast" indicated it was used at his "IP address." (Investigator R. Boatright) later learned that the Absolute Software Corp. continued to maintain a "call log" (tracking) for the computer in question, which confirmed the computer was at the same location (Lawrence Manzanares' residence) from Jan. 12, 2007, through Feb. 15, 2007.

• After being supplied with the explanation (as noted by Detective Lawrence), Lawrence Manzanares indicated he did in fact have a laptop computer that was issued to him by the city of Denver. Lawrence Manzanares indicated the laptop computer issued to him was either a "Dell" or possibly a "Gateway." According to Detective Lawrence's report, Lawrence Manzanares indicated he would bring the laptop "into the office" on Feb. 16, 2007, to verify whether or not it was the state Judicial computer that was reported stolen. The specific "office" where the computer was to be delivered was not clarified in the report.

• Specifically, Lawrence Manzanares told Miles Flesche that "one night after work I was walking down the alley" to the parking garage where he had assigned judges' parking (referred to as the "Boiler House" parking garage). Lawrence Manzanares was then approached by an unknown male who had come from a "white pickup truck" and was "offered speakers," which he refused. The unknown male then "offered a laptop" to Lawrence Manzanares. Lawrence Manzanares commented that he was "looking for a laptop for my son." The male then "showed him how to sign on" to the computer. Lawrence Manzanares then indicated he purchased the computer, noting that was "stupid."

Kelly Brough (chief of staff to the mayor of Denver) related that when initially meeting with Lawrence Manzanares he was already aware that the media was making inquiries regarding the laptop computer in question. Kelly Brough indicated that Lawrence Manzanares acknowledged his embarrassment as well as his use of poor judgment in respect to how he came to possess the stolen computer.

• When reviewing the images . . . (Boatright) noted the majority of the images were either sexually graphic, sexually overt or were titled in a sexually explicit way.

• With respect to the 12 videos reviewed, (Boatright) noted that 10 contained graphic sexual activity, while two depicted images of airplanes crashing. The videos/movies which contained the graphic sexual activity were titled in a sexual manner.

• During the review of the summary report for the section title previously indicated (related to sexual material), (Boatright) did not observe any individual depicted who could be positively identified as being under 18 years of age. There were, however, numerous females (possibly some males) whose chronological age was questionable (referring to the possibility those individuals could have been under the age of 18). For that reason, (Boatright) will be submitting the images retrieved from the stolen computer to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). (Boatright) is aware that NCMEC maintains a system database where images submitted can be compared for identification purposes.

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