Pueblo mayor raises concerns over PURA payments with no written contracts

PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) - This week, Pueblo Mayor Heather Graham said she found that the Pueblo Urban Renewal Authority (PURA) gave out $124,647.58 to three different people/companies without written contracts in 2025.

In this letter sent to the Board of Commissioners at PURA, Mayor Graham identified two companies and one person for whom PURA made payments without a written contract.

"I think that in order to get buy-in from your community, you have to share with your community the things that you're doing. If it's going to be a positive reflection on how the dollars are spent, it's great. But just do it by the books and make sure that when we're talking about taxpayer dollars, we have contracts, we have board approval," Mayor Graham said in a sit-down interview with KRDO13.

According to the letter, DC Security was paid $53,832.58, with $7,025 remaining in an invoice, to conduct a security study of the Bessemer area of Pueblo and provide physical security for two burned-down homes on E. 2nd Street. The Mayor questioned why this money was even spent, let alone where the contract for these services was.

KRDO13 spoke with Dan Corsentino, the owner of DC Security, about these payments and services over the phone on Tuesday.

Corsentino said that the then-director of PURA, Jerry Pacheco, requested his company draw up a proposal for the security study of Bessemer. Coresentino said he drew up the proposal then it was approved by the board. Despite there being no physical contract, Coresentino said it was approved by the board, requested by the director, and that he worked actively with PURA staff throughout the process; it was no secret.

As for the security of the two buildings, Corsentino said he believed that since the land was owned by PURA, the director acted under his authority when procuring security.

KRDO13 also spoke to Carla Barela, President of Cortez Construction. Mayor Graham raised concerns about several payments made to Cortez this year. The first was a $2,500 finder's fee, the second a $5,130 payment for asbestos abatement, and the final payment $33,685 for demolition.

Barela told KRDO13 there was no written contract, but a verbal agreement.

The final set of payments that the Mayor raised concerns about was what she described as a consulting contract that paid Simon Tafoya $60,000. KRDO13 was not able to identify or contact the Simon Tafoya mentioned in this letter.

KRDO13 reached out to PURA to ask why this type of work was being awarded without formal contracts, but no one responded to our phone calls or emails

KRDO13 reached out to Jerry Pacheco over the phone and via email; he declined to comment on this story.

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