BRIGHTON — Nearly four weeks of testimony ended Wednesday with prosecutors alleging that former Quality Resurfacing owner Jerry Rhea stole $250,000 from Adams County taxpayers in 2007 as part of a massive scheme that included local public officials.
Jurors got the case against Rhea about noon Wednesday. They have nearly 100,000 documents to examine, including evidence showing Rhea overbilled Adams County for the cost of resurfacing roads or for work that was never done , prosecutors said.
In all, Rhea faces 23 felony counts related to the Quality Paving and Quality Resurfacing scandal that also implicated former Adams County and company officials. Investigators allege the company was paid for $1.8 million in road and repair work that was never done.
Specifically, Rhea was helped by former public works director Lee Asay,60, and county construction manager Sam Gomez, 64, prosecutors said.
Both men face similar charges for their alleged role in the conspiracy to defraud taxpayers. Last month, jurors convicted former Quality Paving vice president Dennis Coen of 62 felonies.
In their closing arguments to jurors, prosecutors said Rhea used his connections to both Asay and Gomez to inflate work orders to enrich his company. They began their scheme in 2004 and it reached fruition in 2007, when Rhea overbilled the county for more than $250,000, prosecutors said.
Rhea ” took advantage of the weaknesses of a government system,” prosecutor Jess Redman told jurors. Rhea, as company president. “knew exactly what was happening.”
But when Adams County ordered an audit of its work with Quality Resurfacing in 2008, Asay left and Rhea lost his insider edge, added co-prosecutor Dave Young.
“The Golden Goose flew away because they got caught,” Young said.
However, defense attorney Anthony Leffert told jurors Rhea never knew of any overbilling and that he was a victim of a vindictive ex-employee, Heath Russo.
Russo — who also pleaded guilty to charges related to the scandal — vowed to put Rhea in jail when he left the company, Leffert said. Rhea never saw the work orders that were submitted to the county and Russo was the only witness who said he was told to inflate prices, Leffert said.
“Not a single witness said there was public corruption involved in this,” Leffert told jurors. “There are a lot of pieces missing in this case.”
Monte Whaley: 720-929-0907 or mwhaley@denverpost.com
