Couple alleges Pueblo Mayor’s son stole over $18,000 from them, avoids charges
PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) - He's a member of one of the most powerful families in Pueblo. He's also evaded felony prosecution for nearly a year after a southern Colorado couple claims he stole more than $18,000 from them. 13 Investigates spoke to that couple and uncovered the six-year legal battle they've endured with Douglas Gradisar, son of Pueblo's mayor.
Tony and Linda Nicholson live in a small town just northwest of Trinidad. In 2016, after investing in several recreational marijuana businesses in Trinidad, they learned that their business partners were defrauding the business and taking money from them under the table.
They immediately sought legal advice from Gradisar Law, a firm whose managing partner was Nick Gradisar, who went on to become the Mayor of the City of Pueblo in 2019. The Nicholsons said they originally met to discuss their case with Nick before he passed the case to his son, Douglas, also an attorney at Gradisar Law.
Throughout the case - which abruptly ended in early 2022 - the Nicholsons said they paid Gradisar Law more than $500,000 for legal representation. The couple told 13 Investigates all of the money went through a trust fund account that their attorneys could tape into when payment was due.
"We had no reason to doubt him. For what happened at the end, we didn't see it coming. It was a total shock and surprise," Tony Nicholson explained.
Toward the end of the case, in 2021, the couple told 13 Investigates that a lot changed at Gradisar Law. After Nick became mayor in 2019, he left the law firm. Gradisar stayed on as their primary attorney until his law license was suspended on July 1, 2021. According to court documents, however, the Nicholsons didn't know about this suspension for months.
Gradisar admitted in court records that he didn't notify the Nicholsons that he couldn't legally practice law in Colorado until Christmas Eve of 2021, six months after his suspension.
"He should have notified us immediately,” Linda Nicholson said.
The Colorado Office of Attorney Regulation suspended Gradisar’s law license after he failed to complete his continuing legal education classes, a requirement for all attorneys in Colorado annually.
On January 4, 2022, ten days after the Nicholsons became aware of his inability to take their case to trial, a judge dismissed their case with prejudice. That means they'll never be able to re-file the case again. This dismissal was because the judge ordered that the January date was to be the final delay Gradisar could receive after the case had been stretched on for over six years at that point.
"What he did was not only immoral, it was unethical,” Linda said.
A month later, Gradisar wrote to the court that he had "lost his way" because of his heart condition and claimed his doctors recommended that he "not engage in stressful litigation."
Gradisar wrote in court documents that he firmly believed he would be able to complete his CLE (continuing legal education) classes, and then be in a position to take their case to trial.
Emails between the Nicholsons and Gradisar show that he promised to pay back the Nicholsons any money owed to them in payments after the case was dismissed with prejudice. However, for the next six months, those payments never came and Gradisar ghosted the Nicholsons by not responding to their repeated requests to get in contact with him.
"There's $18,000 and change unaccounted for. The thing is, he didn't do anything with that $18,000 but put it in his pocket. He didn't do anything about our case. That's the issue,” Tony explained.
On top of not only having their case dismissed and being owed a significant amount of money from Gradisar, the Nicholsons also endured another deep blow - Linda was diagnosed with stage-three cancer.
Linda said she received her diagnosis toward the end of the civil case. However, she insists the cancer had zero impact on the couple's ability to attend every hearing and help their attorney prep their legal case.
"I have been sick, very sick," Linda said. "I made sure that my medical condition, which is quite serious, didn't interfere with anything regarding this case."
Tony said he was fed up with the lack of response from their attorney. The Nicholsons eventually decided to drive up to Pueblo and file a police report with the Pueblo Police Department alleging that they were victims of felony theft.
"My real concern is why isn't Douglas Gradisar being held accountable and that kind of goes back to what I look on as a great conflict of interest,” said Tony.
The City of Pueblo operates under a Strong Mayor style of government, which affords his father powers as the executive officer of the City of Pueblo. This means he’s in charge of all departments, including the police department and the Police Chief himself, Chris Noeller.
Noeller has the power to call in an outside agency to investigate any case he deems necessary, typically those that may involve a conflict of interest. However, in this case, Noeller chose not to do that.
"So why hasn’t it been turned over to maybe CBI (Colorado Bureau of Investigation) or some other agency somewhere that's outside that can take a look at it? So I do have an issue with that,” Tony questioned. “It just kind of smells like a little bit of government politics and corruption.”
The Nicholsons point to a 2022 investigation by the Pueblo Police Department into allegations of domestic violence and felony criminal mischief by Douglas as evidence of “government politics and corruption.”
In that case, Douglas was arrested after he was accused of destroying the home he shared with his partner. That case was originally dropped by Pueblo County District Attorney Jeff Chostner for “insufficient evidence.”
Chief Noeller later admitted that his officers' investigation into the incident was “not an example of [their] best work.” Noeller said a further investigation by his officers needed to take place before Gradisar was re-charged for the crime, a case where Douglas is still awaiting trial.
"We would be in jail until our trial, but he's got backers. He's got his father who is going to back him,” Linda said.
Now, a year after the Nicholsons filed a police report with evidence that their attorney has not returned money owed to them, Gradisar has not been charged.
Chief Noeller told 13 Investigates the criminal case has been turned over to the 10th Judicial District Attorney's Office. When we asked Chostner where the case stands, he said he could not ethically comment on the case.
Despite the inaction by local law enforcement, the Colorado Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel found that Gradisar “failed to provide legal work while still taking his clients' money.” The disciplinary body found that this conduct violated numerous rules of professional conduct for attorneys.
For that reason, Gradisar was stripped of his law license and was subsequently barred from practicing law in Colorado. The Nicholsons, though, are still out thousands of dollars with little justice in sight.
"What we want is justice. He should be locked up somewhere for what he did. He was deceitful and he lied and he's got no ethics, no principles, and his moral compass, if he ever had one, went totally sideways, then he lost it,” Tony said.
The Nicholsons told 13 Investigates they're not just upset about the over $18,000 paid to Gradisar in 2021, they're also reeling from losing the money paid to Gradisar Law over the life of their case.
"Where is our savings? What do we have to back us up now? We trusted him,” Linda said.
13 Investigates requested interviews with both Nick and Douglas Gradisar to discuss this criminal case. Both men declined our requests.
Douglas’ attorney, Adam Schultz, issued this statement instead:
"Mr. Gradisar has been battling a life threatening heart condition since 2019. The personal
Attorney for Douglas Gradisar
and professional effect of that diagnosis have been devastating. There is nothing newsworthy
about the allegations that Mr. Gradisar is facing or his challenges since his diagnosis.
Nonetheless, Mr. Gradisar’s affairs have been cast into the public eye by those who, for their
own motives, speculate that his father as Mayor has somehow influenced Mr. Gradisar’s legal
process. Such speculation is unfortunate, inaccurate, and ill informed. There is no evidence to
suggest that Mr. Gradisar has experienced favorable treatment in connection with any of the
allegations."
Gradisar will be back in court on his felony criminal mischief charges Friday, August 11. That case has been delayed ten times since it was charged.
