BumbleBeeDave
11-14-2005, 12:14 PM
. . . in this case, just about the whole d@mn store!
From Velo News today . . .
http://gazette.com/display.php?id=1312006&secid=2
So Bill Bove, how could there be ANYTHING left in this store?
BBDave
______________________________
Metro/State OTHER HEADLINES
November 11, 2005
Bike-shop workers accused of theft
By ANSLEE WILLETT THE GAZETTE
Two Colorado Springs bicycle-shop employees were arrested on suspicion of stealing more than $383,000 of merchandise, most of it sold on eBay, police said Thursday.
It’s one of the largest employee thefts to be investigated by Colorado Springs police, the 4th Judicial District Attorney’s Office said.
William Reese Houghton,
32, and Michael Joe Kelty, 34, are suspected of felony theft from Pro Cycling on Briargate Boulevard near Chapel Hills Mall.
Both were arrested Wednesday. Houghton, a former manager, was freed on $10,000 bail, and Kelty posted $1,000 bail.
Kelty is suspected of stealing $8,400 worth of bicycles and parts last summer for himself and friends, police said.
Houghton is suspected of stealing at least $375,000 worth of bicycles, parts and clothing since the spring of 2003, according to court papers released Thursday.
Houghton made $147,605 selling the goods on eBay, often below retail price, an arrest affidavit states. One bike that retailed for $5,100 sold for $2,555.
Houghton, who ran the shop’s daily operations, had worldwide customers, including in South Korea, Germany and New Zealand, police said.
“He was the fox in the henhouse, taking photos of stuff in the store and putting it on eBay, making it seem like the money was coming back to the store,” Colorado Springs police detective Fred Walker said.
Houghton allegedly pocketed all the money he made on the sales, spending some of it on lingerie, steak dinners, a health club membership and satellite radio, said police, who obtained his bank records.
Houghton and Kelty were fired in September because of the owner’s suspicion that they were stealing from him.
Pro Cycling owner Bruce McGrew opened the shop in April 2003 and hired Houghton as manager for a salary of $1,000 a week, McGrew said Thursday. The two met at a bicycle shop about six years ago.
“The biggest mistake is I trusted Reese because I thought he was a friend of mine,” McGrew said.
Houghton allegedly began selling the items online six weeks after Pro Cycling opened and used the shop’s FedEx account to ship them, the affidavit states.
McGrew became suspicious when the business lost money each year — $400,000 in 2003, $280,000 in 2004 and $110,000 in 2005.
Early this year, McGrew hired a consultant to see what was wrong, thinking the shop simply wasn’t organized well.
Houghton was fired initially in March for missing a deadline to place a company ad in the phone book, said McGrew, who was then unaware of the alleged thefts.
“His management skills were absolutely awful,” McGrew said. “Now in hindsight, I see why. He was running two businesses and putting the most priority on his.”
Houghton begged to be rehired, saying he put “his heart and soul in this business,” McGrew said. He got his job back the next day, but was demoted to salesman with a lower salary, McGrew said.
McGrew’s consultant, Mark Norris, took over as manager and instituted a process for ordering and tracking inventory.
Norris was out for two months because of surgery, and Houghton was in charge of ordering inventory, the affidavit states.
When Norris returned, he found inventory missing. He and McGrew suspected internal theft and called police.
Between September 2003 and September 2005, Houghton posted 525 items for sale on eBay and sold 361 of them, the affidavit states.
“Coincidentally, the bulk of the postings dropped off dramatically in late January 2005 at around the same time that Mr. McGrew brought in Mr. Norris,” Walker wrote in the affidavit.
Now, McGrew is more involved with the shop’s daily operations. He wants to keep the business afloat.
“It’s a pretty ugly little mess. We’re looking at a store that has hardly anything left and a bunch of bills we didn’t know we had and a slow season ahead,” he said.
“I’ve made a commitment to re-merchandise the store and get us to spring and see what the business can do without a fair amount of the inventory being sold on eBay.”
CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0366 or
awillett@gazette.com
From Velo News today . . .
http://gazette.com/display.php?id=1312006&secid=2
So Bill Bove, how could there be ANYTHING left in this store?
BBDave
______________________________
Metro/State OTHER HEADLINES
November 11, 2005
Bike-shop workers accused of theft
By ANSLEE WILLETT THE GAZETTE
Two Colorado Springs bicycle-shop employees were arrested on suspicion of stealing more than $383,000 of merchandise, most of it sold on eBay, police said Thursday.
It’s one of the largest employee thefts to be investigated by Colorado Springs police, the 4th Judicial District Attorney’s Office said.
William Reese Houghton,
32, and Michael Joe Kelty, 34, are suspected of felony theft from Pro Cycling on Briargate Boulevard near Chapel Hills Mall.
Both were arrested Wednesday. Houghton, a former manager, was freed on $10,000 bail, and Kelty posted $1,000 bail.
Kelty is suspected of stealing $8,400 worth of bicycles and parts last summer for himself and friends, police said.
Houghton is suspected of stealing at least $375,000 worth of bicycles, parts and clothing since the spring of 2003, according to court papers released Thursday.
Houghton made $147,605 selling the goods on eBay, often below retail price, an arrest affidavit states. One bike that retailed for $5,100 sold for $2,555.
Houghton, who ran the shop’s daily operations, had worldwide customers, including in South Korea, Germany and New Zealand, police said.
“He was the fox in the henhouse, taking photos of stuff in the store and putting it on eBay, making it seem like the money was coming back to the store,” Colorado Springs police detective Fred Walker said.
Houghton allegedly pocketed all the money he made on the sales, spending some of it on lingerie, steak dinners, a health club membership and satellite radio, said police, who obtained his bank records.
Houghton and Kelty were fired in September because of the owner’s suspicion that they were stealing from him.
Pro Cycling owner Bruce McGrew opened the shop in April 2003 and hired Houghton as manager for a salary of $1,000 a week, McGrew said Thursday. The two met at a bicycle shop about six years ago.
“The biggest mistake is I trusted Reese because I thought he was a friend of mine,” McGrew said.
Houghton allegedly began selling the items online six weeks after Pro Cycling opened and used the shop’s FedEx account to ship them, the affidavit states.
McGrew became suspicious when the business lost money each year — $400,000 in 2003, $280,000 in 2004 and $110,000 in 2005.
Early this year, McGrew hired a consultant to see what was wrong, thinking the shop simply wasn’t organized well.
Houghton was fired initially in March for missing a deadline to place a company ad in the phone book, said McGrew, who was then unaware of the alleged thefts.
“His management skills were absolutely awful,” McGrew said. “Now in hindsight, I see why. He was running two businesses and putting the most priority on his.”
Houghton begged to be rehired, saying he put “his heart and soul in this business,” McGrew said. He got his job back the next day, but was demoted to salesman with a lower salary, McGrew said.
McGrew’s consultant, Mark Norris, took over as manager and instituted a process for ordering and tracking inventory.
Norris was out for two months because of surgery, and Houghton was in charge of ordering inventory, the affidavit states.
When Norris returned, he found inventory missing. He and McGrew suspected internal theft and called police.
Between September 2003 and September 2005, Houghton posted 525 items for sale on eBay and sold 361 of them, the affidavit states.
“Coincidentally, the bulk of the postings dropped off dramatically in late January 2005 at around the same time that Mr. McGrew brought in Mr. Norris,” Walker wrote in the affidavit.
Now, McGrew is more involved with the shop’s daily operations. He wants to keep the business afloat.
“It’s a pretty ugly little mess. We’re looking at a store that has hardly anything left and a bunch of bills we didn’t know we had and a slow season ahead,” he said.
“I’ve made a commitment to re-merchandise the store and get us to spring and see what the business can do without a fair amount of the inventory being sold on eBay.”
CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0366 or
awillett@gazette.com