FORT MORGAN OFFICIAL FACES DRUG COUNTS

A Fort Morgan councilman was arrested Thursday after police said they
found methamphetamine and what appeared to be a meth lab in his home.

Mike Mese, 35, is being held without bail on charges of manufacture,
possession, sale and distribution of drugs, possession of materials
to make methamphetamine, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Police raided the councilman's home at 709 Meeker St. Thursday night
after authorities received an anonymous tip about a meth lab at
Mese's home, said Fort Morgan Police Chief Keith Kuretich. Mese was
arrested without incident in his home.

"You hear about city officials being arrested on drug charges in
other cities. We have not had this kind of association in our
community," Kuretich said.

Mese has been on the City Council since 2003. He works at Mr. D's, a
hardware store in this town of 11,000 about 70 miles northeast of
Denver, said Mayor Jack Darnell. Darnell said Mese received the
second-highest number of votes last year for the council.

"We are shocked and disappointed something like this has happened,"
Darnell said.

"It's a surprise," the mayor said, but noted that Mese "had been
missing a lot of council meetings lately."

When he ran for a council seat in 2001, Mese told The Fort Morgan
Times that he had been convicted of a felony drug charge three years
earlier. "I have paid my dues and moved on with my life," he was
quoted as saying.

Darnell said he does not know what will happen with Mese's council
seat, but said he will meet with the city attorney on Monday to discuss it.

Mese's term expires on Jan. 10.