Steve Atwood was an Adams 12 Five Star Schools success story: the local boy, a star athlete who returned to his hometown as a teacher and athletic director. But he was also robbing the school district blind.
The exact amount Atwood stole isn’t known and probably never will be known. The best estimate is at least $190,000, money stolen from student funds, gate receipts from athletic events and taxpayer money.
On Thursday, Atwood stood in a courtroom with two other men who grew up in the Thornton area and went through the school system: Adams 12 superintendent Chris Gdowski and Adams County District Court Judge Chris Melonakis.
Prosecutors requested jail time for the felony embezzlement charge Atwood pled guilty to earlier this year.
Melonakis instead chose seven years of probation and 90 days of work release.
Read the rest of this report, including what Atwood said in court, at .
