Barbara Lawlor, Boulder County. On Friday, March 4, the 20th Judicial District Court of Boulder County issued an Arrest Warrant for Nederland resident Peter Fiori charging him with Attempt to Influence a Public Servant and Misuse of Official Information, according to an indictment by Stanley L. Garnett, District Attorney for the Twentieth Judicial District in Boulder County.
Count One: On Nov. 16, 2015, Fiori unlawfully and feloniously attempted to influence Nederland Town Administrator Alisha Reis by threat of violence or economic reprisal against a person or property, with the intent to alter or affect her decision, vote, opinion or action which was considered or performed by Reis.
Count Two: Misuse of Official Information which Fiori, in his official capacity as a member of the Nederland Board of Trustees, had access to, information which had not been made public, and then unlawfully and feloniously acquired a pecuniary interest in a property.
According to the Twentieth Judicial District Grand Jury Indictment, on or about Dec. 12, 2012, Administrator Reis was contacted by excavator Leonard Cole who told her he was willing to sell his property at 55 Indian Peaks Drive. Cole knew the town was looking for a site for the new public works department and the town of Nederland held a right of first refusal on the property.
On Jan. 15, 2013, in an executive session of the Nederland Board of Trustees, the trustees discussed the possibility of purchasing the property and investigating the feasibility of doing so. Town records show that Fiori attended the meeting.
The BOT decided they could offer Cole $600,000 for the property in February. They agreed that a higher price could be negotiated and gave Reis the authority to negotiate on the Town's behalf.
In April, 2013, Fiori reportedly made an offer to Cole which was higher than the town's bid. Cole sent Fiori's written offer to Reis.
According to the indictment, when Fiori heard that Reis learned about his offer to Cole he allegedly contacted her and told her to stop bidding against him, that she was driving up the price. He had no authority to instruct Reis about the negotiations.
The members of the board became uncomfortable with the situation and one member reported Fiori's actions and attitude to Nederland Mayor Joe Gierlach. Gierlach reportedly did not investigate the allegation, which goes against the Nederland Municipal Code Mandate that states, "The Mayor shall examine all complaints against any elected or appointed official of the Town to determine the existence of a violation or neglect of duty and report the evidence to the BOT for possible removal of the officer.
If a public servant knowingly, arbitrarily and capriciously does not report evidence of violation or neglect of duty, that public servant commits Second Degree Official Misconduct. The Grand Jury cannot indict Mayor Gierlach at this time because the statute of limitations expired before those events became known to law enforcement.
The indictment states that Fiori outbid the town and purchased the property which he later sold for a profit of over $200,000. Since then, the town has begun construction on a new site that was more expensive than the Cole property. This is misfeasance and conflict of interest and the charges state that Fiori will cost taxpayers over $1 million, $200,000 of which will come directly from the town of Nederland.
In November, 2015, Fiori allegedly told Reis that he wanted her to publicly tell the BOT that he had not interfered with the Town's right of first refusal. Reis stated he became angry and threatened legal action if she refused. She refused to do so.
Since then, Fiori has built the Caribou Room, a state of the art concert hall that had a soft opening last weekend to rave reviews on the former Cole site.
On Friday, March 4, District Attorney Stanley Garnett filed an arrest warrant for Fiori, with a Personal Recognizance bond of $10,000.
