Ex-councilman suspected of trying to drug woman

An employee of the state mental health hospital in Pueblo may face drug charges after police say he slipped a drug into a woman’s drink at a Colorado Springs restaurant.

Robert Lawrence Psaty, 56, was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of inducing consumption of a controlled substance by fraudulent means, a felony. Police said the drugging attempt took place on Jan. 3 at Ruby Tuesday, 1340 Garden of the Gods Road, on the city’s west side.

Psaty, a former Florence City Council member, was meeting women at the restaurant through a local dating service, according to a police report. A waiter saw Psaty drop a pill into the woman’s drink while they were having dinner, took the drink and called police.

Tests determined that the pill was Diazepam, a tranquilizer used to relieve anxiety and relax muscles, police said.

Psaty, who is free on $3,000 bond, is due in court on Wednesday when he is set to be advised of the accusation against him. Calls made to Psaty on Monday evening were unanswered. It is unknown what Psaty’s position is at the Colorado Mental Health Institute.

Psaty was elected to the Florence City Council in 1993, days before he was suspended from his job as a lieutenant at the Centennial Correctional Facility in Cañon City.

That same year he was charged with false imprisonment, harassment and thirddegree assault after a prison nurse said he locked her up, threatened her with a stun gun and grabbed her blouse and looked inside several times.

He pleaded guilty in the case in 1994, receiving a deferred sentence. The state was sued by the nurse in 1996 and settled, paying her and her attorney $258,000.

Psaty resigned from the council in 1995.

Psaty has prior criminal offenses, according to court records, including criminal mischief in 2002 and driving under the influence in 2003 and 2007.

CONTACT THE WRITER: 476-4813 or kim.nguyen@gazette.com