Colorado’s chief court administrator resigns

DENVER – Colorado’s chief court administrator has resigned amid The Denver Post’s investigation into a $2.5 million contract for leadership training he awarded to a former staffer.

The Denver Post reports Christopher Ryan resigned Thursday after canceling the contract to The Leadership Practice, the business owned by former Judicial Department Chief of Staff Mindy Masias.

The bidding process for the leadership training contract closed in February without other bids.

The newspaper could not immediately reach Ryan for comment.

Masias resigned in March after going on indefinite medical leave in November 2018. She has not commented about her departure.

According to documents, Ryan had reported concerns about Masias’ travel expenses and barred her from seeking reimbursements.

The department’s chief operations officer, Steven Vasconcellos, has been named the interim administrator.