Gary Haney, killed by SWAT team, was sex-mag publisher, former Big Daddy of Denver nightlife

Also from "Big Trouble."

Go-Go (the Rocky Mountain part of the moniker was dropped) eventually evolved into a more mainstream entertainment mag before expiring. But Haney wasn't finished with the sex industry. He subsequently opened up Colorado Companions, which grew into what Maher describes as "the biggest escort agency in the Rocky Mountains, operating around the clock, seven days a week, with more than a dozen employees."

"He had changed the whole industry for Denver," one former Haney associate told Maher. "Kind of made it more upscale, kind of made it nicer. He tried to be, like, the Playboy of escort companies," with prices to match. Haney's workers typically charged in the $250-$300-per-hour range.

What went wrong? Maher writes that Haney got bored with the business even before he became a championship-level meth consumer -- and afterward, his empire crumbled. "He was getting death threats," a former Haney pal told Maher. "Someone came into his house and knocked him around one night, and he had no idea who was responsible. I know between three people, he owed over $50,000."

"Gary is the worst-case scenario," added another. "He is the stereotype. He's below a pimp."

Cut to August 26 of this year, when Wheat Ridge and Westminster police officers reportedly arrived at the Kipling Street Ramada in search of Haney, who was wanted for identity theft, criminal impersonation and forgery.

According to Lisa Spinder, spokeswoman for the Wheat Ridge Police Department, Haney told cops he was armed (with, as it turned out, a Leatherman tool rejiggered to look like a handgun) and wouldn't be going anywhere unless he was in a body bag -- and after about nine hours or so, following the evacuation of the hotel, he got his wish. He was shot five times and subsequently pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.

Contacted this morning, Spinder notes that the Critical Incident Response Team looking into the matter submitted its report to the Jefferson County District Attorney's Office last week -- and Pam Russell, spokeswoman for the DA's office, is checking on its current status. We'll update this post when she gets back to us.

By the way, Russell was surprised to learn about Haney's past, a legacy much like him -- big, bold and gone.

Here's a larger look at Haney's most recent mug shot.

Gary Haney.

More from our Colorado Crimes archive: "Brenda Stewart, Denver Players/Sugar owner & ex-escort, indicted for tax evasion, racketeering."