DENVER (CBS4)– A woman has been charged in connection with forging several checks from three assisted living residents she worked with.

Bridget Thomas has been charged with theft of an at-risk elder and forgery.

The charges allege that during her employment at the Harvard Square retirement home, Thomas, 40, was able to obtain and cash checks from residents, totaling $4,000.

Bridget Thomas (credit: Denver DA)

According to court documents, Thomas is accused of taking personal checks that were written to the facility, altering them and cashing them in her name.

“It just makes me sad because everything I pay here is in check, everything, bills, just everything,” said resident Willa Taylor.

Investigators believe it happened three times. The first time the bank refused to give her any money but the second and third time she was able to get cash.

Thomas was a manager and the human resources director at Harvard Square near Parker and Havana. When the retirement home learned of the allegations Thomas was put on leave and then fired.

The executive director of Harvard Square released this statement, “We have zero tolerance for unethical behavior and all of our associates must pass a criminal background check before we hire them to work at our community.”

A background check revealed Thomas had been arrested for theft while working as a bank teller.

Thomas has been released from custody on a $10,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in Denver County Court on May 4 for her second advisement.

DENVER (CBS4)– A former human services caseworker who was charged with official misconduct following accusations that she falsified reports, has pleaded guilty and been sentenced in the case.

Rotchana Madera pleaded guilty last week to forgery and official misconduct. She was sentenced to a two-year supervised deferred judgment on the forgery count and a concurrent sentence of two years of supervised probation for the misconduct count.

Madera, while employed by Denver Human Services, entered false information into the official case tracking system about her work on an assigned case.

Kelsy Newell-Skinner (credit: Denver Police Department)

Denver Human Services requested an investigation into the case, involving Kelsy Newell-Skinner, after her 2-month-old daughter was admitted to the hospital with skull fractures and later died from her injuries. The criminal case against Newell-Skinner is still pending.

LITTLETON, Colo. (CBS4)– A 23-year-old Littleton woman spent four days in jail without bail and is being charged with two felony forgery counts in what she, her mother, and a former FBI agent say is a case of mistaken identity.

“I just want to go back to my life,” said Taylor Brookshire.

Brookshire, a nursing school student and restaurant hostess, was arrested November 12, 2014 after Denver Police issued an arrest warrant for Brookshire on two felony forgery charges. She spent two nights in the Jefferson County Jail then two nights in the Denver Jail before being released on bond.

“It was the scariest thing ever,” Brookshire said.

She had never been in jail before.

The arrest stemmed from an incident at a USBank in Denver six weeks earlier. On September 29, 2014, a woman entered the bank at 1100 South Broadway and attempted to cash a $695 check made out to Taylor Brookshire. The woman used a fake Ohio drivers license with Brookshire’s name and picture on it.

Brookshire told CBS4 she had used the fake Ohio license to drink years earlier when she was underage., but she said she gave the license to a friend more than a year ago and lost track of it.

Bank employees immediately suspected the check was a fraud. The suspect attempting to cash the check fled the bank when it became clear employees knew the check was bogus. She left the check behind along with the fake ID.

Taylor Brookehire’s fake ID (credit: CBS)

Police quickly tracked down Brookshire since the license had her name and photo on it. But when a DPD detective contacted Brookshire and her mother, Mary Kozlowski, they declined to cooperate with police and make any statements.

So, Denver police detectives went to the bank and showed employees a six-picture photo lineup containing a photo of Taylor Brookshire. The employees had apparently already seen Brookshire’s photo on the phony driver’s license. The teller who waited on the female suspect, Richard Kumi, “was unable to make an identification” according to a police report.

Two other bank employees who came into contact with the suspect picked Brookshire’s photo out of the lineup as the suspect in the bank September 29.

“They were wrong. People make mistakes every day. They misidentified her,” said Kozlowski.

Based on those two identifications, police issued a warrant for Brookshire and she was subsequently arrested.

After being released from jail, Brookshire and her mother began reviewing the evidence, including a slew of still photos from bank surveillance cameras. While Brookshire is 4-foot-10, squat and muscular, the suspect in the bank surveillance photos appears to be slender and significantly taller.

In one photo, the suspect is standing next to a bank employee who lists her height as 5-foot-1. The suspect, seen wearing flat boots, appears to be several inches taller than the bank employee, which would make her roughly three to five inches taller than Brookshire.

“She is definitely taller than me and her arms are way longer than mine,” said Brookshire. “I have no idea who that could be.”

Height differences between Taylor Brookshire, the bank teller, and the woman who committed forgery (credit: CBS)

Kozlowski says the pictures of the bank suspect don’t even resemble her daughter, “That is not my daughter in the bank video. They just rushed to judge and now they don’t want to admit they’re wrong.”

Earlier this month, Brookshire submitted to a polygraph test by Kenneth Vardell, a 30-year veteran of the FBI and a certified FBI polygraph examiner. Vardell asked Brookshire during the lie detector test if she was the woman at the bank or was involved in a scheme to cash the forged check. She replied no during the polygraph.

“It is the opinion of this examiner that the recorded responses are not indicative of deception, and that Taylor Brookshire was being truthful in her answers,” wrote Vardell.

In subsequent written statements obtained by CBS4, Vardell went even further, “The bank camera photos do not remotely resemble the Taylor Breann Brookshire that I met with and tested… after having met with Taylor and confirming her features physically, it is my opinion that, even with disguise, she could not be the person depicted in those bank camera frames.”

The bank photos obtained by CBS4 also show the suspect endorsing the phony check with her right hand. Brookshire is left handed.

A spokesperson for the Denver District Attorney’s Office said there would be no comment on the Brookshire case as it is an active, ongoing case. Mary Kozlowski says prosecutor Rebekah Melnick has made several plea bargain offers, even offering to drop the check forgery charge and allow Brookshire to plead guilty to owning a forged ID in exchange for giving Brookshire a deferred judgment.

To date, Brookshire has not accepted the prosecutor’s offers. She is due back in court June 8.

Questioned by CBS4, Brookshire said she did not work last September 29 and was not in class. She said she was not sure where she was when the bank incident took place.

“I just don’t want to relive it- I want it done and over with,” says Brookshire.

But the prosecutor has declined to dismiss the case.

Denver Police Commander Matt Murray defended the way his department and its detectives pursued the case. “The Denver Police Department had probable cause to arrest Ms. Brookshire at the time of this incident, and the same probable cause to arrest remains. The Denver Police Department was not provided any information that would indicate Ms. Brookshire was not the suspect in this case. Our goal in any investigation is to uncover the truth, we remain open to that goal and would be happy to investigate any pertinent information which can be provided to further this investigation.”

Brookshire’s mother calls the continued prosecution reckless and malicious, “The Denver DA is seeking to prosecute someone who is obviously innocent. That is not my daughter in the bank video. How do the police and DA not see that? They just rushed to judge and now they don’t want to admit they’re wrong.”

CBS4 Investigator Brian Maass has been with the station more than 30 years uncovering waste, fraud and corruption. Follow him on Twitter @Briancbs4.

By Brian Maass
DENVER (CBS4)– A year after Taylor Brookshire was arrested, jailed for four days without bond, and charged with felony forgery, Denver prosecutors have dismissed all charges against the Littleton nursing student saying cellphone technology indicates they likely arrested and prosecuted the wrong person.

“I’m so happy to have my life back,” Brookshire said last Friday, moments after charges were dropped in a Denver courtroom. “There’s still people who are innocent and did not commit crimes and I was one of them.”

A previous CBS4 Investigation in May raised questions about her case and if authorities had arrested the wrong person. Brookshire, 23, was arrested in November 2014 and charged with two felony forgery counts. She spent four nights in jail, a place she had never been before, and then faced 16 court appearances and $8,000 in attorney’s fees over the next year before charges were finally dropped.

“My daughter was innocent,” said Brookshire’s mother, Mary Kozlowski. “It’s an abuse of power. It’s reckless, malicious prosecution in my eyes.”

The case stemmed from an incident at a U.S. Bank branch in Denver in September 2014. A woman entered the bank at 1100 South Broadway and tried to cash a $695 check made out to Taylor Brookshire. The woman used a fake Ohio driver’s license with Brookshire’s name and picture on it. Brookshire used the fake ID years earlier when she was underage so she could drink. But she said she gave the license to a friend more than a year ago and lost track of it.

U.S. Bank employees suspected the check was bogus and the suspect fled the bank before the transaction was completed. She left behind the license and Denver police quickly tracked down and contacted Brookshire and her mother, Mary Kozlowski.

When a DPD Detective contacted Kozlowski, she and her daughter declined to make any statements saying it was their constitutional right. Denver police then obtained a probable cause warrant for Brookshire’s arrest for two counts of felony forgery.

They also showed bank employees a photo lineup containing a picture of Taylor Brookshire. The teller who helped the suspect “was unable to make an identification” according to a police report. However two other bank employees who came into contact with the suspect picked Brookshire’s photo out of the lineup as the woman who was in the bank September 29 attempting to pass the bad check.

But with Brookshire steadfastly maintaining she was not in the bank and did not try to pass the forged check, questions soon arose. Brookshire is listed as 4-foot-10 and is by her own admission, squat and muscular. The woman captured in bank surveillance photos appears to be at least three to five inches taller than Brookshire. The suspect also appears to be slender and lithe compared to Brookshire’s compact build. In one photo, the suspect appears to be several inches taller than a bank employee who listed her height at 5-foot-1.

Height differences between Taylor Brookshire, the bank teller, and the woman who committed forgery (credit: CBS)

The suspect was also seen in bank photos signing the check with her right hand. Brookshire is left handed.

She and her family paid for a polygraph test administered by a 30-year veteran of the FBI, Kenneth Vardell. In a report shared with CBS4, Vardell wrote in early 2015 that Brookshire was truthful when she denied involvement in the bank fraud. Vardell went further, writing, “The bank camera photos do not remotely resemble the Taylor Breann Brookshire that I met with and tested… even with disguise, she could not be the person depicted in those bank camera frames.”

But police and prosecutors pressed on. It was only after a year and some 16 court dates that prosecutors revealed they obtained cellphone tower technology that showed that Brookshire’s phone was not near the bank branch on the day in question. That led prosecutors to dismiss the case.

Lynn Kimbrough, a spokesperson for the Denver District Attorney, said “We were able to confirm that Ms. Brookshire’s cellphone was not anywhere near the bank at the time the forgery occurred. Additional information is she did not commit the forgery. That’s probably somebody else who was in the bank that day. It was someone who used her fake ID.”

Kimbrough was asked if police and prosecutors could have obtained the cellphone information much earlier in the case.

”Theoretically,” responded Kimbrough but she said taking that kind of investigative step, in this kind of case, is unusual.

However she said when a second prosecutor took over the case, he thought obtaining the cellphone records was a prudent step in determining guilt or innocence.

“I don’t know if she is owed an apology but I would apologize for what she’s had to go through. I’m sorry she had to spend these last twelve months facing these charges,” said Kimbrough.

Richard Huttner, Brookshire’s attorney, told CBS4,”She knew she wasn’t guilty and stood up for her rights. All along she said ‘It’s not me’ and took them to task. It is disappointing. The justice system is not perfect.”

Prosecutors may be done but Mary Kozlowski is not. She told CBS4 she has filed an internal affairs complaint with the Denver Police Department against the detectives who handled the case. Kozlowski also intends to file a complaint against the initial Denver prosecutor who prosecuted the case who she contends “maliciously and recklessly went after my daughter and didn’t even bother to review the video evidence, or other evidence in the case.”

CBS4 Investigator Brian Maass has been with the station more than 30 years uncovering waste, fraud and corruption. Follow him on Twitter @Briancbs4.

DENVER (CBS4) – The founder of a piano entertainment company has been charged with money laundering, theft and forgery.

He is alleged to have gotten away with hundreds of thousands of dollars from seven identified victims, all detailed in a 122-count indictment.

A night of entertainment is what clients expected to get when they hired the Dueling Pianos Roadshow for their events.

Heidi Weisner booked them for a school fundraiser.

“I had about 100 people coming to my house,” she said.

Working with the company’s founder, James or “Caz” Bzdek, Weisner agreed to pay $3500 for the performance that she never got.

“They were booked… Talked to him several times and then he went quiet at one point,” Weisner said.

Her account however was busier than ever.

“My husband was informed that, from American Express, that he had hit our credit card at least four or five times,” Weisner said.

(credit: CBS)

A Denver grand jury has now indicted  Bzdek and his girlfriend, Bethany Concha, on numerous charges, alleging the two used that business to get ahold of credit card information and bill clients multiple times, keeping the extra money for themselves and leaving victims at a loss.

The indictment goes on to allege that Bzdek and Concha in some cases would use the stolen information to pay for daily living expenses, such as airline tickets, gas, utility bills, and even posting bond.

Weisner says she’s lucky she used a major credit card, and ultimately wasn’t out of any of the money personally.

CBS4’s Karen Morfitt spoke with  Bzdek by phone, but he did not want to comment specifically on the charges. He did say that his girlfriend Beth is a great mother to their daughter and should not be named in anything. He hopes that all charges involving her will be dropped.

DENVER (CBS4) – A 70-count indictment has been returned by a grand jury against a man accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from property owners and subcontractors.

Roddy Reef (credit: Denver District Attorney’s Office)

According to Lynn Kimbrough with the district attorney’s office, Roddy Reef, 56, has been charged with violating the Colorado Crime Control Act, 64 counts of theft, and five counts of forgery.

“The charges allege that Reef, doing business as R2 Construction Company, engaged in a pattern of racketeering that included taking money from project owners who had hired R2 Construction to perform construction and remodeling services at various project locations,” Kimbrough said in a statement.

Reef is accused of keeping money paid by project owners meant to go to subcontractors.

Kimbrough said Reef is accused of stealing more than $470,000 from at least 50 victims.

Reef is out of custody on a $10,000 bond. He’s scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 7.

Additional Information From The Denver District Attorney’s Office

Investigators believe there are additional victims. Anyone who thinks they may have been a victim should contact the Denver DA’s Office Economic Crime Unit at 720-913-9179.

DENVER (CBS4) – A former candidate for Denver City Council District 2 has been formally charged following allegations of forged petition signatures.

According to Lynn Kimbrough with the district attorney’s office, Corrie Houck, 44, has been charged with one count of attempt to influence a public servant, six counts of forgery, and six counts of perjury.

Corrie Houck (credit: vote-co.org)

“The charges allege that Houck signed and submitted ballot petitions last spring that contained forged petition signatures, including three people who were deceased,” Kimbrough said in a statement.

A warrant has been issued for Houck’s arrest.

DENVER (CBS4)– Officer John Adsit was nearly killed when he was run over while trying to protect high school students who were protesting police violence in December 2014.  Now, he’s sharing his recovery journey with CBS4’s Alan Gionet.

Adsit took out a box labeled “Fatal Accident” that was filled with the uniform and clothes he was wearing that day he was riding along Colfax Avenue.

“And as you can tell, a lot of this is not from a paramedic cutting them off of me,” said Adsit.

(credit: CBS)

Adsit doesn’t remember the car driven by a man who was having a seizure when he plowed into a group of officers and dragged Adsit a half of block.

Christopher Booker pleaded guilty to charges of vehicular assault and attempt to influence a public servant and was sentenced to six years in a halfway house.

Christopher Booker in court (credit: CBS)

Adsit believes his helmet saved his life, “The visor barely got clipped there.”

(credit: CBS)

The rest of his injuries were so bad, it has become apparent that he wasn’t expected to survive.

The black Mercedes driven by Christopher Booker that struck four Denver Police officers (credit: CBS)

“This is a complete artificial skin graft. Had a fasciotomy to save this leg,” said Adsit.

That happened when doctors sliced open his leg to relieve swelling.

(credit: CBS)

Now Adsit is helping other injured first responders with his Adsit Strong organization.

“I feel like God kind of called me into this role of stepping up and being the voice for individuals who either weren’t willing or kind of didn’t want to talk about what they’ve gone through,” said Adsit.

(credit: CBS)

It’s the second year for Rise & Run 5K on Saturday, Sept. 17 to benefit Wounded First Responders.