ROMO TRIAL TESTIMONY SCRUTINIZED

A special prosecutor could be requested today to scrutinize testimony
investigators made in the felony drug cases against Bill and Julie Romanowski.

Chuck Lepley, the region's special prosecution coordinator, said his office
is deciding whether to ask a judge to appoint a metro-area prosecutor to
investigate statements from DEA Special Agent Kyle Brannon and Douglas
Country Sheriff's Detective Jeff Grimwood.

Attorneys for the Denver Broncos linebacker and his wife accused Brannon
and Grimwood of lying on the witness stand during hearings for the
husband-and-wife pair and requested an investigation.

Douglas Country District Count Judge Thomas Curry earlier called Brannon's
testimony "not credible."

"The facts in this case definitely warranted someone else looking into
this," said Harvey Steinberg, one of the Romanowskis' attorneys.

Steinberg took issue with Brannon in May when the agent gave conflicting
stories about how he and Grimwood entered the Romanowskis' Lone Tree home
in August 1999 to investigate a prescription scheme involving the diet drug
Phentermine. Grimwood was the only investigator who corroborated Brannon's
testimony.

After a hearing in May, Curry ruled that statements the Romanowskis made to
the investigators were inadmissible during the trials because agents
entered the couple's home illegally.

Bill Romanowski was acquitted in June on charges of unlawful possession of
a controlled substance, obtaining a controlled substance by fraud and
deceit, and two counts of conspiracy.

Prosecutors from the 18th Judicial District later dropped charges against
Julie Romanowski, who was accused of obtaining Phentermine eight times
between Sept. 7, 1998 and Aug. 21, 1999. A conspiracy count alleged that
she was part of a prescription scheme involving a doctor and two of the
Romanowskis' friends.

District attorney spokesman Michael Knight said Tuesday that he "would be
surprised if a special prosecutor didn't look into this case." Court files
were given to Lepley last week.

Steinberg said the investigators face formidable accusations.

"We have a judge on the record who has real problems with the testimony,"
Steinberg said. "What more could you ask for?"