Allegations brought forward 14 years ago against Elias Diggins, Denver’s newly appointed sheriff when he was a commander, were never fully investigated, a report by The Gazette revealed Thursday. 

More than a decade ago, a confidential informant claimed that Diggins carried out favors for a notorious street gang in connection with his brother, who Diggins confirmed in an interview was a gang member in Denver. Diggins denies any involvement with the gang, however.

Read the special report in The Denver Gazette on the website here or in the interactive e-edition here (requires signup).

Despite a second corroborating informant and concerns from colleagues, Denver’s internal affairs bureaus and the FBI declined to investigate without further evidence, The Gazette reports.

The informant’s allegations “are nothing more than old conspiracy theories,” City Attorney Kristin Bronson told The Gazette in a statement.

“The fact that a convicted felon hoping to better his situation provides information to law enforcement does not make the information true, any more than repeating a rumor again and again makes the rumor true,” she said.

Diggins was appointed as sheriff by Denver Mayor Michael Hancock in July. He has worked with the Denver Sheriff Department for more than 25 years and served as a captain, sergeant and deputy sheriff for the department. 

His appointment was supported by the National Sheriffs Association, National Latino Peace Officers Association and Greater Metro Denver Ministerial Alliance, among others.