El Paso County commissioners vote to settle two lawsuits related to scandal involving former sheriff Terry Maketa

The El Paso County Board of County Commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday to settle two more lawsuits against former El Paso County sheriff Terry Maketa.

The lawsuits, totaling $120,000, were filed separately and allege retaliation by Maketa in the workplace.

Maketa’s former campaign manager, Wendy Habert, claims she was retaliated against because she made a claim of sexual harassment against a deputy. Habert claims she was fired because of it. She is now the director of compliance under current Sheriff Bill Elder’s term.

In a separate claim, Deputy Cliff Porter alleges he was harrassed and bullied as a result of a political association that Maketa disagreed with.

County commissioners agreed to give Habert $55,000 from the Sheriff’s Office salary line reflecting lost wages and salaries. Her settlement includes another $30,000 from the county risk management fund for attorney costs.

Porter’s settlement includes $17,500 from the Sheriff’s Office salary line in lost overtime and opportunity and $17,500 from the county risk management fund for attorney costs.

All of the money is taxpayer-funded.

Board Chair Amy Lathen told KRDO NewsChannel 13 that the settlements and cost to taxpayers is frustrating, but the move would likely save money in the end because it prevents the cases from going to court.

“Litigation becomes so expensive with required trial costs and attorney fees and things like that,” Lathen said. “We’ve worked very hard to get this down to the most minimal amount that we can to protect the staff members and protect the taxpayers and the county in this situation.”

“When it comes to these kinds of issues that are related to behavior, choices that are made by an elected official, in this case the previous sheriff, it’s very troubling because those are public resources,” Lathen said.

Maketa has been the center of scandal at the Sheriff’s Office since May 2014 when it was discovered several employees filed complaints, alleging Maketa created a hostile work environment, misused taxpayer funds and gave undeserved promotions to three female subordinates. Maketa was also accused of having inappropriate relationships with the three women. A chain of emails and text messages sent on county accounts supported the claim for at least one of the women.

An independent investigation into the employment allegations levied against Maketa found many of the allegations were true, including that he mishandled several internal affairs investigations and gave preferential treatment to the three women. A criminal investigation is still underway.

To date, the county has settled four lawsuits against Maketa, totaling more than $300,000. Another lawsuit involving five Sheriff’s Office employees has been filed in federal court. A county spokesperson told KRDO NewsChannel 13 that the county attorney will assess each claim before deciding if the county is potentially liable.

County attorney Amy Folsom clarified in the meeting that the county could potentially ask Maketa to repay the county for losses at a later date. It’s unclear whether county leaders plan to do that.

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