A 53-year-old Greeley man was ordered to pay $1.3 million in restitution to a gas-drilling company today for tampering with production meters on natural-gas wells.
Rex William “Bill” Monahan must pay $400,000 of the restitution by 4 p.m. to DCP Midstream (formerly Duke Energy) in order to not violate his sentence, said Weld County District Attorney spokeswoman Jennifer Finch.
In April, Monahan pleaded guilty to one count of felony theft and one count of misdemeanor theft.
Monahan tampered with the gas wells on his property so they would inaccurately show more gas output, which generated more payments from DCP Midstream, Finch said.
He originally was charged with four counts of felony theft in June 2007 after months of investigation by the DA’s office. The tampering, which occurred from July 2004 through May 2006, produced false output readings from each of the wells resulting in more than $1 million in losses to Duke Energy, Finch said.
Monahan also was sentenced by Weld District Judge Marcelo Kopcow to 180 days work release and three years of supervised probation.
