SECOND JUDICIAL OFFICIAL QUITS AMID PROBE

A second high-ranking official in Colorado’s Judicial Department has resigned amid a Denver Post investigation into the details of a $2.5 million contract awarded to the department’s former chief of staff.

Chief Administrative Officer Eric Brown resigned Friday effective Aug. 3 for unspecified reasons. He received a letter from acting State Court Administrator Steven Vasconcellos not to come to work and to schedule a time to clear out his office at the Ralph Carr Judicial Center in downtown Denver, according to copies of the correspondence obtained by The Post.

Brown was the department’s human resources director when he recommended the five-year contract to provide leadership training be awarded to his former boss, Mindy Masias. Masias resigned March 19 after a four-month medical leave and Brown made the recommendation March 20. A few months before her leave, State Court Administrator Christopher Ryan disciplined her over concerns about altered expense receipts. Judicial auditors later found additional problems.

Ryan resigned Thursday, a day after canceling the contract with The Leadership Practice, a company Masias formed in January. Although dozens of companies nationwide showed interest, none actually bid.

Before becoming chief of staff, the third-highest-ranking administrative job in the department, Masias was its human resources director and Brown’s supervisor.

Masias and Brown spoke in February at the National Association of Court Management’s midyear conference in Little Rock, Ark. They presented a program about having a drama-free work environment.