Sam Tabachnik
@samtabachnik.bsky.social
Investigative reporter with the Denver Post | formerly NBC News, Washington Post and New Orleans Times-Picayune | Long live TB12 | Send me your nicest comments: stabachnik(at)denverpost.com
With recent changes to state law, you could face 36x more jail time in muni court than state court for the same conviction.
A police officer has the discretion to send you to muni court or state court. That decision could bring enormous consequences.
www.denverpost.com/2024/09/22/c...
A police officer has the discretion to send you to muni court or state court. That decision could bring enormous consequences.
www.denverpost.com/2024/09/22/c...
How Colorado’s municipal courts became the state’s most punitive forum for minor crimes
Sweeping sentencing reforms in 2021 didn’t impact Colorado’s municipal courts. As a result, the potential jail sentences for minor crimes in city court now often far outpace the state’s…
www.denverpost.com
January 16, 2026 at 4:53 PM
With recent changes to state law, you could face 36x more jail time in muni court than state court for the same conviction.
A police officer has the discretion to send you to muni court or state court. That decision could bring enormous consequences.
www.denverpost.com/2024/09/22/c...
A police officer has the discretion to send you to muni court or state court. That decision could bring enormous consequences.
www.denverpost.com/2024/09/22/c...
The state has rarely used its enforcement powers to block problematic employers who bring workers under the H-2A visa, we found in a three-part investigation in 2024.
www.denverpost.com/2024/09/01/f...
www.denverpost.com/2024/09/01/f...
Unenforced Labor: An investigation into unsafe working conditions in Colorado agriculture
In this three-part special report, The Denver Post uncovers chronic abuses in Colorado’s agricultural supply chain – and the lack of action from state and federal regulators.
www.denverpost.com
January 15, 2026 at 5:34 PM
The state has rarely used its enforcement powers to block problematic employers who bring workers under the H-2A visa, we found in a three-part investigation in 2024.
www.denverpost.com/2024/09/01/f...
www.denverpost.com/2024/09/01/f...
Palombo and Star Farms have a long history of not paying their workers.
“Every year it’s the same,” one laborer told me in 2023. “This year they said it would change. But it’s a lie — we come and it’s the same thing all over again.”
www.denverpost.com/2023/09/19/s...
“Every year it’s the same,” one laborer told me in 2023. “This year they said it would change. But it’s a lie — we come and it’s the same thing all over again.”
www.denverpost.com/2023/09/19/s...
This Colorado farm has repeatedly violated federal labor laws. Why does the U.S. continue to grant it foreign workers?
All told, Star Farms owner Angelo Palombo has been hit with $209,000 in penalties and back-wage repayments as part of federal investigations and settlement agreements in civil lawsuits.
www.denverpost.com
January 15, 2026 at 5:33 PM
Palombo and Star Farms have a long history of not paying their workers.
“Every year it’s the same,” one laborer told me in 2023. “This year they said it would change. But it’s a lie — we come and it’s the same thing all over again.”
www.denverpost.com/2023/09/19/s...
“Every year it’s the same,” one laborer told me in 2023. “This year they said it would change. But it’s a lie — we come and it’s the same thing all over again.”
www.denverpost.com/2023/09/19/s...
These sentencing disparities have been an issue for several years, as sweeping state-level reforms drastically reduced sentences for low-level crimes.
As a result, municipal courts became the state's most punitive forum for minor crimes.
www.denverpost.com/2024/09/22/c...
As a result, municipal courts became the state's most punitive forum for minor crimes.
www.denverpost.com/2024/09/22/c...
How Colorado’s municipal courts became the state’s most punitive forum for minor crimes
Sweeping sentencing reforms in 2021 didn’t impact Colorado’s municipal courts. As a result, the potential jail sentences for minor crimes in city court now often far outpace the state’s…
www.denverpost.com
December 22, 2025 at 6:19 PM
These sentencing disparities have been an issue for several years, as sweeping state-level reforms drastically reduced sentences for low-level crimes.
As a result, municipal courts became the state's most punitive forum for minor crimes.
www.denverpost.com/2024/09/22/c...
As a result, municipal courts became the state's most punitive forum for minor crimes.
www.denverpost.com/2024/09/22/c...
In 2022, I wrote a three-part series on Bunker and the illicit antiquities trade.
She played an integral role in helping her close friend Douglas Latchford sell looted art around the globe.
www.denverpost.com/2022/12/01/c...
She played an integral role in helping her close friend Douglas Latchford sell looted art around the globe.
www.denverpost.com/2022/12/01/c...
Looted: Stolen relics, laundered art and a Colorado scholar’s role in the illicit antiquities trade
In this three-part report, The Denver Post investigates the role of Emma Bunker, as “The Scholar,” in an illicit antiquities smuggling operation that left Cambodian temples plundered fo…
www.denverpost.com
December 4, 2025 at 5:09 PM
In 2022, I wrote a three-part series on Bunker and the illicit antiquities trade.
She played an integral role in helping her close friend Douglas Latchford sell looted art around the globe.
www.denverpost.com/2022/12/01/c...
She played an integral role in helping her close friend Douglas Latchford sell looted art around the globe.
www.denverpost.com/2022/12/01/c...
The settlement marks the 4th time since 2020 that Craig has paid $ to ppl injured by law enforcement. The city has seen just 3 police shootings in its recorded history, and they’ve all occurred since 2023 -- a per-capita incident rate 20x higher than Denver’s.
www.denverpost.com/2025/07/27/c...
www.denverpost.com/2025/07/27/c...
Police in rural Colorado plowed into a suspect who had his hands up. The undersheriff who gave the command has since been promoted.
Police shootings and excessive-force allegations have become increasingly common in recent years in Craig.
www.denverpost.com
November 7, 2025 at 6:36 PM
The settlement marks the 4th time since 2020 that Craig has paid $ to ppl injured by law enforcement. The city has seen just 3 police shootings in its recorded history, and they’ve all occurred since 2023 -- a per-capita incident rate 20x higher than Denver’s.
www.denverpost.com/2025/07/27/c...
www.denverpost.com/2025/07/27/c...
Horning reneged on agreements that would have had his company help fund the replacement of the iconic gondola that runs from the town of Telluride to the ski resort. He ended a decades-long partnership for a free concert series at the last minute.
October 30, 2025 at 3:49 PM
Horning reneged on agreements that would have had his company help fund the replacement of the iconic gondola that runs from the town of Telluride to the ski resort. He ended a decades-long partnership for a free concert series at the last minute.