A man sentenced to 25 years in prison on racketeering charges Monday might have gotten away with it, if someone else had not hit him with a car.
Douglas Alan Glaser, 41, was indicted in 2005 on securities fraud, violating the Colorado Organized Crime Control Act, conspiracy, criminal impersonation and other charges.
Prosecutors said Monday law enforcement got interested in Glaser after he was the victim in a hit-and-run crash in February 2005 and realized he had false identification.
As it turned out, Glaser and a co-defendant were running a securities fraud scheme, and he was failing to disclose his criminal history by using a false identity.
Glaser had three trials, two of which ended in mistrials. One mistrial came the day after the prosecution had rested it case, when Glaser’s lawyer, said he suffered from a bipolar condition that had affected his representation.
The case was delayed earlier when Glaser’s lawyer committed suicide. Glaser has filed numerous appeals and has been represented by seven different attorneys.
There were many legal filings in the case. Glaser sued and appealed to the state Supreme Court, saying he was denied a speedy trial.
However, in examining a three-year period, the Supreme Court attributed seven months to the state and 23 months to Glaser and his lawyers.
Before his sentencing Monday, Glaser had waited almost four years in jail.
He is accused of swindling hundreds of thousands of dollars from individuals and businesses by misrepresenting investments, according to the Denver District Attorney’s Office.
