In what has to be the most disgusting case of taxpayer abuse in recent memory, CBS4 broke that an assistant attorney for the City of Denver, Stuart Shapiro, banked $213,ooo while couch surfing as he was on leave pending a litigation misconduct investigation. Even worse, during his 19 months of leave under charges of “litigation misconduct”, Shapiro earned a $4,000 raise and a “satisfactory” job performance rating despite having done no actual work and being on leave for screwing up his job. From CBS4:

“The CBS4 investigation asked via open records request how many cases had been assigned to Shapiro during 2015. “Zero” was the answer from the City Attorney’s Office.

“The agency was also asked how many times Shapiro had entered the office in 2015. ‘We do not have a record readily available to answer this question, but believe the answer would be 0-5,’ said an administrator for the City Attorney’s Office.”

How do we get this job? No work and over $213,000 in pay across 19 months? Sign us up asap.

This situation actually gets worse when you consider why Shapiro was on investigative leave. Remember that guy, Jamal Hunter, who was beat up in a Denver jail, remember how he received $3.25 million for his pain and suffering? According to another CBS4 piece, Shapiro “was accused of sending emails to Denver police investigators encouraging them to pressure witnesses in the Hunter case”. So, let’s get this straight. First, he was part of a debacle that ended up costing the city $3.25 million and, then, he is paid over $213,000 to sit on his a$$ at home while Denver figured out whether he misbehaved in the case? The waste of taxpayer dollars here is nauseating.

FYI, this is why people hate the government and think that the government is blowing their tax dollars – because they are. Where is Mayor Hancock in this equation?  Why hasn’t he stepped up to fire Shapiro’s boss, Scott Martinez, for not firing Shapiro? Buck stops with Hancock, doesn’t it?