'F---ing Insane!' New York Democratic Consultant Decries NH DOJ Investigation

By Damien Fisher, NH Journal

A prominent New York Democratic operative is under criminal investigation in New Hampshire over allegations he exploited his elderly parents, and he says it’s all a family-driven smear.

Denny Salas, a senior vice president at Gotham Government Relations, confirmed to NHJournal that he is the target of a New Hampshire Department of Justice probe being handled by the Elder Abuse and Financial Exploitation Unit. No charges have been filed.

Salas insists the allegations are false and driven by a bitter dispute with his sisters over control of the family’s assets.

“It’s not a 50/50 story,” Salas told NHJournal. “It’s f—ing insane.”

Salas’ parents, Ramon and Ana Salas, live in Weare. His sisters, Elizabeth Salas Evans and Loretta Brady, claim he is exploiting them through a family trust he helps control. Their allegations were forwarded to the New Hampshire Department of Justice, which opened the investigation.

Salas told NHJournal that the criminal probe itself is part of the retaliation he faces for blowing the whistle on what he says is misconduct by his sisters and his father’s court-appointed guardians.

In a highly unusual move, New Hampshire Department of Justice spokesman Michael Garrity confirmed to POLITICO that Salas is the target of an active investigation by the agency’s Elder Abuse and Financial Exploitation Unit. It is all but unheard of for prosecutors at any level in New Hampshire to confirm or deny the existence of an open investigation. Telling a reporter the identity is even more unusual. Garrity confirmed to NHJournal that he made the comments to POLITICO.

Elizabeth Salas Evans told POLITICO she welcomes the investigation.

“I do hope he is held accountable,” she said.

Ramon Salas suffers from serious mental health conditions, and Ana Salas was granted durable power of attorney in 2020. She manages the couple’s assets through a trust she controls with Denny Salas.

In August, Ramon Salas experienced a mental health crisis and was admitted to Elliot Hospital in Manchester.

According to documents shared with NHJournal, that is when Brady — an Elliot Health System board member — and Salas Evans moved to remove Ana Salas’ control of the power of attorney. The sisters petitioned the court, which appointed Paramount Guardianship Services to oversee Ramon Salas’ estate.

Denny Salas alleges that the move allowed his sisters and the guardians to seize control of his parents’ assets.

In a statement provided to NHJournal, his legal team accused the guardians of fabricating claims and manipulating the legal process for financial gain.

“The guardians deliberately propagated a falsehood of marital separation between Ana and Ramon, concealed the estate’s wealth to manufacture an artificial insolvency crisis, isolated the ward in a hospital to churn fabricated administrative fees, and utilized self-notarized liens to force the liquidation of the family’s protected assets,” the statement reads. “When Denny Salas provided objective, timestamped evidence of these crimes, the enterprise leveraged a factually defective judicial referral … to mislead the NH DOJ into targeting the whistleblower.”

Salas said he has documentation showing his sisters and the guardians misled the court and are attempting to divert assets from his mother.

“I welcome any objective investigation by the NH DOJ, because every single allegation they have made against me is a provable, documented lie,” Salas told POLITICO. “The truth does not change, and the paper trail is bulletproof.”

Salas’s high-profile political activity has drawn attention to this case from outside New Hampshire. He ran unsuccessfully for state Assembly in 2022 and New York City Council in 2021 before joining Gotham Government Relations, where he has lobbied on behalf of clients including AARP and the NYPD’s rank-and-file union.

Gotham founder David Schwartz defended Salas and said the case raises broader concerns about New Hampshire’s probate and guardianship systems.

“Any investigation will exonerate Denny and show the true motives of the perpetrators of this fraud,” Schwartz told POLITICO.

This story was originally published by the NH Journal, an online news publication dedicated to providing fair, unbiased reporting on, and analysis of, political news of interest to New Hampshire. For more stories from the NH Journal, visit NHJournal.com.