A judge today ordered the former president of Quality Paving Co. to stand trial on multiple felony counts in a scandal in which taxpayers allegedly paid for $1.8 million of road work that was never done.
Jerry Rhea is one of six people who have been charged so far in an ongoing investigation that is now in its third year.
Rhea faces 23 felony counts, and today’s hearing was held to consider whether there was enough evidence to prosecute him on the six most serious theft charges.
Adams County Judge Dianna Roybal found that there was and bound Rhea’s case over to district court for arraignment, which was scheduled June 1.
Roybal’s ruling came after a former supervisor at Quality Paving’s sister company testified this morning that he repeatedly falsified bills sent to Adams County – sometimes adding as much as 30 percent to the amount of materials actually used.
Prosecutors have alleged that Quality Paving and its sister company, Quality Resurfacing, carried out an elaborate scheme in which they billed taxpayers for $1.8 million of work that was never done.
Heath Russo, the former company worker, has pleaded guilty to misdemeanor and felony theft charges and agreed to testify against the other five defendants, which include three former company officials and two former Adams County employees.
Russo testified that he kept track of the daily work done under the company’s 2007 contract to fill cracks and slurry seal various roads.
According to Russo, Rhea repeatedly instructed him to alter the materials to drive up the price of the job. And in some cases, Russo testified, the company billed the county for work that was never done.
“There was probably three or four streets that we didn’t do,” Russo said.
Quality Paving and Quality Resurfacing had originally been awarded the contracts in 2004. They were then extended in 2005, 2006, and 2007 by the Adams County commissioners without new bids being sought. Instead, the company agreed to keep working at 2004 prices.
But Russo said Rhea simply altered invoices to cover both the increased price of materials and to build in profit for the company.
Under cross-examination from Rhea’s attorney, Tony Leffert, Russo acknowledged that he hates Rhea and that he may have told friends that he wanted him to go to jail even if he ended up behind bars himself.
Other testimony at the hearing was provided by Adams County sheriff’s investigator Terry Miles.
Miles detailed several resurfacing jobs in which he said invoices submitted to the county did not match the logs that were kept at the job site. He also testified to visiting a section of 88th Avenue that the county had paid to resurface and finding potholes, weeds and other signs that the work had never been done.
Prosecutor Cynthia Kowert argued that Rhea’s actions were akin to the mastermind of a bank job, who coaxes his underlings to actually committing the robbery.
“Mr. Rhea is directing Mr. Russo to falsify documents, to add approximately 27 percent over what should have been charged, in order to cheat the county, because they can’t operate at 2004 prices in 2007 and make money,” Kowert said.
Leffert, however, argued that the case against Rhea was based on hearsay and on a witness – Russo – who lacked credibility and who had failed to show that the former Quality Paving president was guilty of any wrongdoing.
“Mr. Russo didn’t connect the dots on any of the counts against Mr. Rhea,” Leffert said.
