Rule of Law
By Charles Ivie
Earl Wettengel
October 2, 1888 – January 2, 1965
Earl Wettengel was born in Denver, Colorado in 1888. Before attending the University of Denver, evidence suggests that he went to high school at St. Francis De Sales in Denver, as in his later life he made several donations there. In his early life he also was a member of the Colorado National Guard, as indicated on his World War I draft card. Wettengel attended the University of Denver law school starting in 1912 and graduated in 1915 with an LLB (an undergraduate law degree). He was 27 when he graduated and was already married.
Wettengel filled out his WWI draft card when he was 28 and entered into the U.S. Army as a First Lieutenant. Wettengel entered the Army as an officer, which means he was part of a small minority of men placed in command of soldiers. Combat was less common for officers, and Wettengel likely provided support and organization rather than fighting power in the trenches. It was not uncommon for older men who graduated from university to be assigned a rank of officer, given their experience and education. Wettengel served past the end of the war, at least until 1921 where he appeared in an Army register as a Captain, but he likely served longer than that, as he achieved the rank of Lieutenant Colonel at the end of his military career.[1] After his time in the military, his life began to get quite interesting.
Earl served on the DU law alumni counsel from 1928-29, becoming a prominent part of the DU and Denver legal community.[2] In 1928, he ran for the position of Denver District Attorney and won as a Republican. He ran again in 1932 and won, by a further margin of vote this time as well.[3] During his time as an attorney and the District Attorney, Earl was hit with scandal and taken to court. In 1935 the Supreme Court of Colorado held the PEOPLE v. WETTENGEL case, where he was found guilty and indicted for Conspiracy to Commit Bribery. Wettengel accepted bribes by two other men in exchange for allowing them to operate unlawful gambling rooms in Denver.[4] The reasons why this happened are likely tied to Prohibition, but it is unclear how common gambling or bribery was in Denver. For the remaining thirty years of his life, not much else in known; it is understandable if after this lawsuit, his time in the public spotlight ended. He died in 1965 and is buried in Fort Logan National Cemetery in Denver.
Footnotes ↓
[1] Information about Earl Wettengel from 1921 U.S. Army Registry, Myheritage.com, accessed June 4, 2021, https://www.myheritage.com/research/record-62558-1374/official-u-s-army-register-1921-in-official-u-s-army-register?snippet=c67a55ff31978d08151e97284975e837
[2] University of Denver Sturm College of Law Alumni Council Website, accessed June 4, 2021, https://www.law.du.edu/documents/alumni/meeting/Denver-Law-Alumni-Council-Members.pdf
[3] Election results from Ourcampaigns.com, Candidate Detail: Earl Wettengel, accessed June 4, 2021, https://www.ourcampaigns.com/CandidateDetail.html?CandidateID=429280
[4] Summary of People vs. Wettengel, Casemine.com, accessed June 4, 2021, https://www.casemine.com/judgement/us/59147d43add7b0493443c736
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