APD haul: 98 grams of cocaine, $3,900 in Bentley's bust

After a sweep through Bentley's restaurant on Saturday allegedly turned up cocaine and cash, Aspen police announced an additional search of an employee's home yielded even more Benjamins and blow.

Through its investigation, police learned a Bentley's at the Wheeler employee who was not present during the weekend search was also dealing cocaine, according to an Aspen Police Department press release issued today. Police say they uncovered roughly 38 grams of the illicit drug and $1,400 at the suspect's home. At the time of the press release, police were pursuing a warrant to arrest the suspect for possession of cocaine with intent to distribute.

Bentley's kitchen worker Raul Perez Cortez, 50, was arrested Saturday during the three-hour sweep of the restaurant and is facing felony drug dealing charges. Another worker, Vicente Vasquez Gomez, 28, was collared for allegedly giving a false name and false identification.

Aspen police say they received video and pictures that showed "individuals packaging a white powdery substance on food preparation surfaces in the kitchen at Bentley." It is unclear who took the video and pictures but Aspen police received the evidence from Basalt police.

Aspen Police Chief Richard Pryor politely warned the city's other bars and eateries to keep their kitchens clean.

“We will take this opportunity to reach out to other licensed establishments, with the aim of preventing similar situations from developing in the future," Chief Pryor said.

The potential compromising of the public's "health and safety are especially concerning" to Aspen police.

"The Aspen Police Department intends to proactively approach the issue of illegal drug sales, as is their practice with crime prevention as a whole. In an effort to preserve the integrity of the investigation, and due to its ongoing nature, the Aspen Police Department will not be releasing further details regarding the investigation at this time. The department will release information pertinent to the public as [it] develops," the press release concluded.

River Name / Location	Stream flow, ft3/s	Gage height ft
Gore Creek
At Upper Station, Near I-70 Twin Bridges	n/a	4 ft
Booth Creek	n/a	4 ft
Abv Red Sandstone Creek At Vail	190	6 ft
At Mouth Near Minturn	225	7 ft
Beaver Creek
At Avon	21	2 ft
Lake Creek
Near Edwards	79	1 ft
Cross Creek
Near Minturn	98	4 ft
Homestake Creek
At Gold Park	127	5 ft
Eagle River
East Fork Eagle River Near Climax	n/a	2 ft
At Red Cliff	30	3 ft
Near Minturn	234	4 ft
Wastewater Treatment Plant At Avon	671	5 ft
Below Gypsum	826	5 ft
Colorado River
Near Kremmling	402	4 ft
Near Dotsero	1,620	3 ft
Below Glenwood Springs	3,080	5 ft
Near Cameo	3,740	6 ft
Below Grand Valley Div Nr Palisade	2,160	5 ft
Near Colorado-utah State Line	4,120	4 ft
Near Cisco, Ut	4,100	3 ft
At Lees Ferry, Az	12,100	9 ft
Near Grand Canyon, Az	12,000	9 ft
Yuma Main Canal Ww At Yuma, Az	987	10 ft
Roaring Fork River
Abv Lost Man Cr Near Aspen	n/a	n/a ft
Ab Difficult C Nr Aspen	53	1 ft
Near Aspen	78	1 ft
Near Emma	476	6 ft
At Glenwood Springs	1,160	3 ft
Hunter Creek
Near Aspen	57	2 ft
At Aspen	49	4 ft
Frying Pan River
Near Ruedi	111	2 ft
Crystal River
Abv Avalanche Crk, Near Redstone	610	2 ft
Arkansas River
Ef Arkansas R At Us Highway 24, Nr Leadville	46	3 ft
Near Leadville	85	5 ft
Below Empire Gulch Near Malta	156	3 ft
Below Granite	453	4 ft
Near Nathrop	451	4 ft
At Parkdale	464	3 ft