Jail and CB community service part of Bond sentence

Bond pleads guilty to felony theft in Rotary Club case

Citing the need to send a message of deterrence to the community at large, District Court Judge Steven Patrick imposed 30 days of jail as part of a sentence on former Crested Butte Rotary Club treasurer and Chamber of Commerce executive director Richard Bond.
Bond was charged with embezzling more than $40,000 in Rotary funds over a three-year period, and at a hearing on Monday, April 23, he admitted to the court that he had taken the money and was sorry for his actions.

Bond will be able to eliminate nine of the 30 days in jail if he performs nine days of community service in Crested Butte. He will have to do another 100 hours of community service, most likely in El Paso County where he and his family are planning to move.
Bond, who has already paid back $40,000 to the Rotary Club, must also pay an additional $14,117 in restitution to the club when the sale of his Crested Butte house closes on May 1.
Bond pleaded guilty to one class-4 felony theft charge and one class-2 misdemeanor theft charge. The felony charge will be deferred and essentially eliminated from the public record if he complies with the rest of the sentence over the next three years, during which he will be on probation.
If he doesn’t fulfill the sentence conditions, he could find himself looking at serving 12 years in the department of corrections.
Both Deputy District Attorney Keith Mandelski and Bond’s attorney Tom Riser again pressed the argument with Patrick that this case was extremely unusual in that Bond had paid back most of the money taken from the Rotary even before charges were officially filed. They presented a revised agreement to Judge Patrick between the two parties that would let the court sentence Bond to 90 days in jail but suspend that jail time if Bond performed community service in Crested Butte. For every eight-hour day of service, Mandelski suggested ten days of jail time should be eliminated. He figured it would take nine months to fulfill that condition.
“Again, this case is very different from the similar cases seen in this court,” said Mandelski. “There wasn’t any restitution before charges were filed and there wasn’t remorse from the defendants. They seemed to be in denial as opposed to Mr. Bond.”
“I too have been thinking quite a bit about this case,” added Riser. “It makes sense for everyone involved to put an end to this. This isn’t a ‘trial-able’ case. He’s fully confessed. He’s paid $40,000. He’s accepted responsibility. Again, I think this case is extremely unique. I’d suggest that this case and this agreement have met the elements of rehabilitation, deterrence and punitive action.”
Riser also outlined where Bond said he spent the stolen money. He said 55 percent of the funds went to pay his mortgage, 13 percent went to insurance costs, 11 percent went to medical expenses, 7 percent for utilities and 5 percent for groceries.
“He didn’t take extravagant vacations with the money. I’ve not found anything similar in nature with other cases,” said Riser. “We think the message to be sent to the community should be that if you do embezzle money, it’s not that you automatically go to jail but, rather, if you cooperate and make amends, you will be given a second chance.”
Bond himself took the opportunity to speak at the hearing as well. “I am so very sorry for the crime I committed,” he said. “I am so very sorry for the harm I did the Rotary, its officers and its reputation. And for the betrayal of trust and respect the community and my family had in me. I was naïve and arrogant to think I could repay the funds before being detected.
“I’ve destroyed my life, socially and professionally in this community,” Bond continued. “I ask the court to show some mercy on me to protect my family from having to go through further pain.”
Upon questioning by Patrick, Bond said he has a part-time job lined up with a service company in Colorado Springs. Bond also said he borrowed the money from friends and family to repay the Rotary.
“I understand the unique situation of this case,” Patrick said. “I do find there to be differences between this case and the others that have been cited. I appreciate the pre-payment. But you didn’t bring this up with the Rotary until after the Rotary figured it out. I think that makes a difference.
“I have to consider both the micro-deterrence of you and the macro-deterrence aspect of other people,” Patrick continued. “I recognize the difference with this case compared to others. But it is important the community understands that if you use other people’s money without consent, you could go to jail. That is my reasoning.”
Patrick sentenced Bond to 90 days in jail and immediately suspended 60 days. He agreed to suspend a further nine days based on community service performed in Crested Butte. “One day of community service can eliminate one day of jail, not 10,” he said. “So there will be 21 days in jail if you do 72 hours of work in Crested Butte.”
Patrick said Bond could split up the time spent in jail to accommodate his new job. Bond agreed to report for the first part of his jail time on Monday, June 4.