Kevin R. Foote, a.k.a. Kevin Cali, will move to the custody of the Colorado Department of Corrections this week after the parole board revoked his parole during a hearing Monday.
Foote had been cooling his heels inside the Boulder County Jail after being arrested July 28 for a parole violation after it was reported that he allegedly left the state without permission and used an unauthorized credit card.
On July 29, the other two principals in BenchWarmers, a sports- bar-themed eatery Foote co-founded with locations in Aurora, Centennial and Erie, shut their doors, leaving behind a mountain of unpaid debt.
Vendors and/or employees allegedly looted the buildings, taking what they believed belonged to them because of unpaid bills and wages.
Concurrent to the parole violation, the Erie Police Department had launched an investigation into numerous complaints from unpaid contractors. That investigation is still ongoing to determine whether the charges should be criminal — if Foote never intended to pay the contractors — or if a civil suit should be brought forward.
Brandon Marinoff, the attorney representing Foote, claims Erie police have no basis for criminal charges because he has proof that at least vendors’ bills were paid until the company started growing too fast and losing money. Plans were to build roughly 20 BenchWarmers franchises in the metro area.
“BenchWarmers would have overcome its temporary business problems, but because Foote is a parolee, there was sudden panic based on allegations that had no merit,” Marinoff said. “All of a sudden Budweiser is running in here, saying, ‘We’d better take our stuff out right now because he was arrested for stealing from the company.’ It was ripped apart, and the company went out of business. If Kevin hadn’t been arrested, the business would have still functioned.”
The Colorado Department of Revenue subsequently seized the three restaurants and Erie headquarters buildings for back taxes. The Centennial building is owned by a group of investors that includes seasoned developer Jim Sullivan and former Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan, who now hangs his hat with the Washington Redskins.
Foote can’t even begin to unravel the BenchWarmers saga until he is released by the Department of Corrections.
Meanwhile, his Erie Village neighbors report that Foote’s wife recently held an “estate sale.”
“His wife was selling everything, including bottles of liquor and signed sports memorabilia, at dirt-cheap prices,” one neighbor, who didn’t want to be identified, said in an e-mail. “Cash only. She said she was moving to Michigan.”
Geller’s get.
Greg Geller, a 14-year real-estate agent who owns Vision Real Estate in Denver, has been named president-elect of the Denver Board of Realtors.
“Helping shape policy and guide a large Realtor association such as DBR, I have a tremendous opportunity to leave my mark on the community as it relates to property rights and Metro Realtor relations,” Geller said. “This is a very prestigious honor for me.”
EAVESDROPPING
A Denver Post reader commenting about a Monday story on an unmanned-vehicle conference in Denver today through Friday:
“If you have ever been behind the blonde in the BMW in the fast lane, texting, going slow, you realize that we have had ‘unmanned’ vehicles in Denver for years.”
Penny Parker’s column appears Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday. Listen to her on the Caplis and Silverman radio show between 4 and 5 p.m. Fridays on KHOW-630 AM. Call her at 303-954-5224 or e-mail pparker@denverpost.com.
