Sen. Michael Bennet frequently touts his business experience restructuring billions of dollars in corporate debt while overseeing a major movie-theater chain for billionaire Philip Anschutz.

But the Regal Cinemas deal that Bennet touts in a campaign ad as a job-saver was also denounced as “looting” and “self-dealing,” involving layoffs, bargain purchases of distressed loans and massive payouts to top executives, according to lawsuits, analyst reports and news accounts from Bennet’s time with Anschutz.

Bennet’s Democratic primary challenger Andrew Romanoff on Thursday put Bennet’s work for the firm front and center in their race, launching ads concluding, “Workers and retirees get hurt, Bennet makes millions, and Wall Street greed wins again.”

Romanoff’s ads piece together lawsuit language and blogger accounts to lash out, saying of Anschutz and Bennet, “They pushed companies into bankruptcy and looted a billion dollars.”

Read more: denverpost.com

Andrew Romanoff’s ads launched Thursday took shots at Sen. Michael Bennet. Photo by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE

Ed Andrieski