Former Colorado Judge Sentenced for Obstructing Federal Investigation of Drug Trafficking Organization
Ryan Kamada, 42, of Windsor, pleaded guilty on June 30, 2020. According to court documents, beginning in or around October 2018, a federal task force was investigating a drug trafficking organization that was distributing large quantities of cocaine throughout northern Colorado. One of the members of the organization was a drug trafficker who lived in Greeley, Colorado. Kamada learned about the investigation in his official capacity as a judge and then disclosed details of the investigation to a friend, who then tipped off the target individual. Kamada had known the drug trafficker since high school.
“By leaking the existence of a search warrant to help his close friend avoid possible criminal exposure, Ryan Kamada abused the power of his judicial position and violated the trust that the people of Colorado placed in him,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “This prosecution confirms that no person – even a judge – is above the law.”
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/former-colorado-judge-sentenced-obstructing-federal-investigation-drug-trafficking