A veteran member of Aurora's legal staff was fired this week after setting up an Internet blog accusing his wife of having an affair with the city's fire chief.

The city hired an outside investigator Thursday to look into allegations of the affair and that Chief Casey Jones, who is married, authorized a pricey BlackBerry for the woman and golfed with her on city time.

Aurora City Attorney Charlie Richardson learned of the Internet blog over the weekend. He said he decided after a hearing Wednesday that it would be appropriate to terminate Assistant City Attorney Rob Werking, who had worked for Aurora 15 years.

Richardson said he arrived at his decision because the blog "disrupted harmony" in the workplace and that Werking also "breached city confidences" in an e-mail.

Richardson declined to say whether Werking was fired but added he is "no longer employed here as an assistant city attorney."

Werking was legal adviser to the city's police department. His wife, Julie, also is an assistant city attorney and most recently was legal adviser for the Aurora Fire Department. She is being reassigned and will work in the city attorney's office, Richardson said.

Julie Werking was too distraught to give an interview Thursday, Richardson said.

She petitioned for a divorce in January, Arapahoe County court records show.

Rob Werking first blogged on his personal Web site Feb. 23: "This space is devoted to the pain, darkness and despair I am dealing with stemming from Julie's decision to have an affair with another married man and co-worker," he wrote.

By Thursday, he had taken the previous entries off his Web site. But CBS 4 News, which broke the story, shared copies of the entries with the Rocky Mountain News.

Jones told CBS 4 News that he would not comment on the blog or the affair accusations because it was a "personnel matter."

In his blog, Werking cites phone records that he says reveal constant calls and text messages between his wife and Jones, and "other evidence including a Hallmark love card that was not meant for me."

He also complains about her "working late, losing weight, dressing sexier . . . ."

In a March 4 posting, he writes, "It is hard going to work in the same place as Julie . . . I am so embarrassed to think that co-workers whisper behind my back that Julie rejected me for a married older man."

He alleges that his wife and the chief went golfing during work. Werking also accuses his wife and Jones of having an affair in a March 21 e-mail to two Aurora police officers, in which he refers them to his blog.

In that e-mail, he informs the officers that the Colorado Supreme Court is investigating him for possible ethics violations.

Werking said he was demoted recently for writing a letter signed by Deputy City Manager Frank Ragan admonishing the Aurora Civil Service Commission for second-guessing Police Chief Daniel Oates' disciplinary decisions. An outside investigator hired by the city ruled the letter an interference with an ongoing disciplinary hearing.

bargec@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5059