Members of State Board Go on Luxury Trip Paid For By Company They Oversee

June 2, 2010 — -- Three members of a Colorado state board that oversees a multimillion-dollar semi-private state agency went on a golfing trip to the luxurious Pebble Beach resort that was paid for by the agency – raising questions about the board's independence and ethics.

Pinnacol Assurance, a tax-exempt, quasi-public agency that handles workmen's compensation for more than half of Colorado workers, has an estimated worth of $331 million to $374 million. It receives money from the state of Colorado and from local governments. A nine-member board appointed by the governor oversees Pinnacol and rules on salaries, bonuses and expenditures for Pinnacol CEO Ken Ross and other executives on behalf of the state of Colorado.

But investigative reporters from ABC affiliate KMGH in Denver traveled to Pebble Beach in mid-May, and found members of the Pinnacol board on a five-day golfing trip with Ross that was paid for by Pinnacol.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH KMGH'S REPORT ON PINNACOL

Video shot by KMGH shows three Pinnacol board members -- Chairman Gary Johnson, ethics member Debra Lovejoy and board member Ryan Hettich -- golfing on a course that costs $495 per person per round, staying in rooms that start at $695 a night, and enjoying dinner and cocktail parties. Johnson and Lovejoy brought their spouses.

The Pinnacol outing also included a chartered bus for a wine tour in nearby Carmel wine country. State Sen. Morgan Carroll, D-Aurora, who chaired a committee last year that reviewed Pinnacol's business practices, called the trip "ridiculous" and "obscene."

"They are stewards of the public money," Carroll said. "The board is supposed to [provide] oversight. ... It is uncomfortable to me that there's a large amount of wining and dining."