Contractor Ramon Chavez was sentenced today to six years in prison for bilking 13 elderly people out of thousands of dollars they paid to have Chavez fix up their houses or yards or build carports, patios, driveways and sidewalks.
Chavez, 59, showed no remorse during the hearing, complaining that weather and money he never received from various sources were the cause of the construction delays.
Five of the 13 victims told how they paid Chavez upfront for the work but were never repaid by Chavez for work he started but never completed or only partially completed.
Denver District Judge Martin Egelhoff said Chavez’ attitude today demonstrates a complete lack of empathy.
“He says he can pay in a couple of weeks. I don’t believe that,” said the judge. “You could come up with a lot of money if you were sincere, which you are not.”
Prosecutor Ken Laff said the prison sentence, plus Egelhoff’s order that Chavez pay restitution of $42,202, sent a message.
“This is not a low-risk crime (for the offender),” Laff said. “People treat this as an invasion of their home. They don’t take it lightly and we don’t either.”
Thomas F. Weiss, who lives in the 1400 block of Perry Street, said he lost $1,000 to Chavez for a carport Chavez said he’d build but never did.
After the sentencing, Weiss said he was pleased with the sentence but would have been even more pleased to have gotten back “the $1,000 he conned me out of.
“It was almost worth $1,000 to see him get the six years,” Weiss added.
Henry L. Dunlap, who also lives in the same neighborhood as Weiss, said he contracted with Chavez to build a carport, chain link fence and shed. But despite paying the contractor $4,800 the work was either not started and completed or never started at all, Dunlap said.
He said he contacted Chavez numerous times and the excuses he got from Chavez were that “It’s too hot, it’s too cold, it’s going to rain, his truck is broken.” Eventually Chavez stopped answering the phone.
Staff writer Howard Pankratz can be reached at 303-820-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com.
