{"id":2455403,"date":"2020-03-05T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-03-05T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/?p=322037"},"modified":"2020-03-05T10:00:00","modified_gmt":"2020-03-05T17:00:00","slug":"aspens-enduring-embezzlement-problem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/aspens-enduring-embezzlement-problem\/","title":{"rendered":"Aspen\u2019s enduring embezzlement problem"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"swift-gallery p402_hide\" readability=\"6.8793103448276\">\n<ul id=\"imageGallery-322037-645\" class=\"gallery list-unstyled\">\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/cover-atw-030520-1-11-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/cover-atw-030520-1-11-819x1024.jpg\" data-sub-html=\" | \" class=\"h-100\">\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/cover-atw-030520-1-11-819x1024.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/cover-atw-030520-1-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/cover-atw-030520-1-1-1024x682.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times | Derek Johnson sits in the jury box Tuesday with his Denver-based lawyer, Pamela Mackey, after being sentenced to six years in prison for stealing and selling more than 13,000 pairs of skis that belonged to his employer, the Aspen Skiing Co.. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"1.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"14\">\n<p><strong>Derek Johnson sits in the jury box Tuesday with his Denver-based lawyer, Pamela Mackey, after being sentenced to six years in prison for stealing and selling more than 13,000 pairs of skis that belonged to his employer, the Aspen Skiing Co.. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)<\/strong><br \/>Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/cover-atw-030520-1-1-1024x682.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Derek Johnson sits in the jury box Tuesday with his Denver-based lawyer, Pamela Mackey, after being sentenced to six years in prison for stealing and selling more than 13,000 pairs of skis that belonged to his employer, the Aspen Skiing Co.. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/cover-atw-030520-1-2-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/cover-atw-030520-1-2-1011x1024.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times | Former Aspen Skiing Co., executive Derek Johnson leaves the Pitkin County District courtroom Tuesday, followed by his wife and son, after being sentenced to six years in prison for stealing and selling $6 million worth of skis that belonged to his employer. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"1\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"13\">\n<p><strong>Former Aspen Skiing Co., executive Derek Johnson leaves the Pitkin County District courtroom Tuesday, followed by his wife and son, after being sentenced to six years in prison for stealing and selling $6 million worth of skis that belonged to his employer. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)<\/strong><br \/>Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/cover-atw-030520-1-2-1011x1024.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Former Aspen Skiing Co., executive Derek Johnson leaves the Pitkin County District courtroom Tuesday, followed by his wife and son, after being sentenced to six years in prison for stealing and selling $6 million worth of skis that belonged to his employer. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/cover-atw-030520-1-3-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/cover-atw-030520-1-3-1024x768.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Aspen Times file | Municipal Judge Brooke Peterson swearing in newly elected Aspen City Council members, from left to right, Torre, Derek Johnson and Mick Ireland in June 2009.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"0\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"11\">\n<p><strong>Municipal Judge Brooke Peterson swearing in newly elected Aspen City Council members, from left to right, Torre, Derek Johnson and Mick Ireland in June 2009.<\/strong><br \/>Aspen Times file<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/cover-atw-030520-1-3-1024x768.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Municipal Judge Brooke Peterson swearing in newly elected Aspen City Council members, from left to right, Torre, Derek Johnson and Mick Ireland in June 2009.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/cover-atw-030520-1-4-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/cover-atw-030520-1-4-1024x693.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times | Former Aspen City Councilman and Skico executive Derek Johnson sits in the Pitkin County District courtroom Tuesday awaiting sentencing in the felony theft case against him. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-1\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"9\">\n<p><strong>Former Aspen City Councilman and Skico executive Derek Johnson sits in the Pitkin County District courtroom Tuesday awaiting sentencing in the felony theft case against him. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)<\/strong><br \/>Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/cover-atw-030520-1-4-1024x693.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Former Aspen City Councilman and Skico executive Derek Johnson sits in the Pitkin County District courtroom Tuesday awaiting sentencing in the felony theft case against him. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/cover-atw-030520-1-5-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/cover-atw-030520-1-5-768x1024.jpg\" data-sub-html=\" | Kerri Johnson arrives for at Pitkin County District Court last month.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-2\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"7\">\n<p><strong>Kerri Johnson arrives for at Pitkin County District Court last month.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/cover-atw-030520-1-5-768x1024.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Kerri Johnson arrives for at Pitkin County District Court last month.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/cover-atw-030520-1-6-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/cover-atw-030520-1-6-1024x774.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Aspen TImes File | Derek Johnson, right, with Snowmass mountain manager Steve Sewell in 2011.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-1\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"9\">\n<p><strong>Derek Johnson, right, with Snowmass mountain manager Steve Sewell in 2011.<\/strong><br \/>Aspen TImes File<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/cover-atw-030520-1-6-1024x774.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Derek Johnson, right, with Snowmass mountain manager Steve Sewell in 2011.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/cover-atw-030520-1-7-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/cover-atw-030520-1-7-681x1024.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Aspen Times file | Derek Johnson photographed at the D&amp;E Ski &amp; Snowboard shop in Snowmass Village in 2005. Johnson ran a black market ski equipment operation, stealing and selling nearly $6 million in goods from the Aspen Skiing Co. He recently began serving a six year prison sentence.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-0.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"10\">\n<p><strong>Derek Johnson photographed at the D&amp;E Ski &amp; Snowboard shop in Snowmass Village in 2005. Johnson ran a black market ski equipment operation, stealing and selling nearly $6 million in goods from the Aspen Skiing Co. He recently began serving a six year prison sentence.<\/strong><br \/>Aspen Times file<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/cover-atw-030520-1-7-681x1024.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Derek Johnson photographed at the D&amp;E Ski &amp; Snowboard shop in Snowmass Village in 2005. Johnson ran a black market ski equipment operation, stealing and selling nearly $6 million in goods from the Aspen Skiing Co. He recently began serving a six year prison sentence.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/cover-atw-030520-1-9-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/cover-atw-030520-1-9.jpg\" data-sub-html=\" | \" class=\"h-100\">\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/cover-atw-030520-1-9.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"caption-toggle\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/aspens-enduring-embezzlement-problem\/#\" class=\"show-captions\">Show Captions<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/aspens-enduring-embezzlement-problem\/#\" class=\"hide-captions\">Hide Captions<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">Aspen is still the little mountain outpost of old where trusting residents frequently leave their front doors unlocked and car keys on the floorboards.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">And while the upper Roaring Fork Valley is mostly free of the violent and rampant property crime that sets more populated areas apart, there is one crime that seems to arise here with regularity: embezzlement.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">\u201cAspen remains a small town,\u201d said Don Nottingham, deputy district attorney who works in Aspen. \u201cAnd one of the things people love is that small-town feel. We feel like we know each other.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">\u201cBut the difference between Aspen and most small towns is there\u2019s a lot of money here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">The latest \u2014 and by far largest \u2014 example of this long-term trend is the $6 million worth of skis, snowboards and other equipment stolen over approximately 15 years by former Aspen Skiing Co. executive and Aspen City Councilman<a id=\"N0x2bd6cb0N0x2b6c5e0:N0x2bd6cb0N0x2b436d8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/derek-johnson-sentenced-to-6-years-in-prison-for-stealing-selling-equipment-from-aspen-skiing-co\/\"> Derek Johnson<\/a> and his wife, <a id=\"N0x2bd6cb0N0x2b6c640:N0x2bd6cb0N0x2b43768\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/wife-of-embezzler-in-aspen-skiing-co-scheme-blames-husband-at-sentencing\/\">Kerri Johnson<\/a>. Prosecutors say the couple made more than $3 million from the early 2000s to late 2018 selling the equipment on eBay despite the fact that Derek Johnson earned more than $115,000 a year in salary by 2017.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">Derek Johnson, 52, was sentenced to six years in prison last month after pleading guilty to felony theft. Kerri Johnson, 49, avoided prison but currently is serving a 90-day sentence at the Pitkin County Jail, and will spend five years on probation after that for pleading guilty to felony theft.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">\u201cThe people you work with here are your neighbors \u2014 whether it\u2019s at Skico or The Aspen Times,\u201d Nottingham said. \u201cIt allows us to trust people more. The other side of that is when theft happens (here), it\u2019s maybe theft from your neighbor or a family member and it becomes a much more personal betrayal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">While the $6 million worth of goods stolen by the Johnsons is easily the largest known embezzlement case ever from Aspen and the Roaring Fork Valley, the massive theft and breach of trust is just the latest in a long, rich line of betrayal by employees who somehow gained money management positions with little to no oversight.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">\u201cIt tends to happen a lot \u2026 because we\u2019ve got lots of money here,\u201d said Aspen Assistant Police Chief Bill Linn. \u201cWhen you hire someone and put them in charge of your money \u2014 if you don\u2019t stay on top of it, bad things can happen.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">The late Pitkin County District Court Judge J.E. DeVilbiss remarked on the trend 20 years ago when he lowered the prison sentence from 24 years to 12 for former Boogie\u2019s Diner bookkeeper Linda Mae Fratis, who admitted stealing $1.7 million from the popular eatery in the 1990s.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">\u201cDeVilbiss told the courtroom he\u2019s noticed embezzlements happen frequently in Aspen when an employee gets \u2018an awful lot of slack in managing money or access to money,\u2019\u201d according to an Aspen Times story from July 2002.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">Jeff Fain, a longtime Aspen police detective and now an investigator with the 9th Judicial District Attorney\u2019s Office in Glenwood Springs, said not much has changed in the interim years.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">\u201cI feel like there is a level of trust in the (Aspen) community that\u2019s inevitable,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I feel like that trust can be exploited, as well. We feel like we can let our guard down and let people do things without supervision.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">\u201cPeople just don\u2019t expect (embezzlement or fraud) to be coming.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">And the cases that have come to light are probably not the only cases of embezzlement that have occurred in the Aspen area in recent years, said Fain and Pitkin County Undersheriff Ron Ryan.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">\u201cI think it happens a lot more than we\u2019re aware of,\u201d Ryan said. \u201cA lot of it is inside (a company) and they would rather deal with it internally than report it to us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">According to a 2017 study by international insurance company Hiscox, 55% of embezzlements in the U.S. in 2016 occured at companies with fewer than 100 employees, 37% involve someone in the financial or accounting departments and nearly a quarter of cases ring up losses of $1 million or more. The average age of those who embezzle is 48, while 51% of cases are committed by women and nearly 29% involve schemes that lasted more than five years, according to the study.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">With the exception of Derek Johnson, all of Aspen\u2019s top embezzlers have been women.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">Fratis \u2014 who was estimated to have actually stolen closer to $4 million from Boogie\u2019s \u2014 comes in second on the all-time list of known Aspen embezzlers. She\u2019s followed by Marlana Lu Howell, who stole more than $700,000 while working as a bookkeeper at Anderson Ranch in Snowmass Village from 2007 to 2009, Shannon Nagle, who embezzled more than $660,000 from her sister\u2019s medical clinic in 2015 and 2016 while serving as office manager, and Sarah Hart, who took more than $500,000 while managing an Aspen shoe store in the 1990s.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">But there\u2019s plenty more.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">A dog-walker stole her wealthy employer\u2019s checkbook in April 2017 just before she was fired, then proceeded to write herself $160,000 worth of checks over the next nine months. The head of the Red Brick Center for the Arts, a city of Aspen-owned nonprofit, helped herself to $125,000 between 2014 and 2017 partially to prop up her failing snowboard business. A former bookkeeper for the Aspen Valley Land Trust admitted stealing $105,000 from that nonprofit in the early 2000s to pay her personal expenses.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">Others take smaller amounts.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">A former teller at the Aspen office of the Grand Junction Federal Credit Union embezzled more than $40,000 from member accounts, including Assistant Police Chief Linn\u2019s, in 2012. An attorney for the Roaring Fork Transportation Authority pleaded guilty in 2013 to charging $30,000 in personal expenses, including golf, to his company credit card. An administrator for a local insurance agent admitted stealing $6,000 in 2014.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">\u201cSometimes it\u2019s really big and sometimes it\u2019s really petty,\u201d Linn said. \u201cYou give someone access to money and that temptation gets the best of them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">And don\u2019t forget Aspen\u2019s community-wide embezzlement deception: The parking scam that occurred between 2010 and 2014 and led to more than $600,000 in city losses, for which no one was criminally charged. In that scheme, mainly local drivers used maxed-out, prepaid debit cards to fool the meters, which approved the parking despite the fact that the cards were later declined when they were processed at the end of the day.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">\u201cThat was an interesting twist on it,\u201d Fain said. \u201cThat was theft by the citizens of Aspen from the city of Aspen.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">\u201cPeople were like, \u2018Forget this rich city of Aspen. I\u2019m gonna steal from them.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">Still, in terms of amount stolen, length of time and the number of people impacted, the Johnsons\u2019 theft dwarfs any previous Aspen embezzlement cases.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">The couple\u2019s crimes \u201cabsolutely\u201d cut deeply for employees who missed out on bonuses, 401k contributions and promotions because of the Johnsons\u2019 actions, but also for Skico executives who worked alongside Johnson for nearly two decades and called him a friend, Nottingham said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">\u201cIf I was in the skin of the people personally betrayed, it\u2019s hard not to look back on the time spent with the Johnsons and think, \u2018We were being stolen from right then,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201c\u2018You stole stuff while we were working together \u2014 while we were friends.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">Indeed, in a letter to Judge Chris Seldin before Derek Johnson\u2019s sentencing, a Skico senior vice president said he\u2019d been friends with him for a decade, their families regularly interacted, they traveled in the same circles and had the same friends. Upon discovery of the embezzlement, he wrote \u201cthat I really didn\u2019t know this man at all.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">\u201cThe crime impacted every aspect of my personal and professional life,\u201d he said. \u201cI couldn\u2019t sleep for months and this continues to take a tremendous toll.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">Skico CEO Mike Kaplan called discovering the theft \u201cone of the most heartbreaking experiences for me in my 25-plus years at the company.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">\u201cDerek was part of a core group who\u2019d been with the company for nearly two decades,\u201d Kaplan wrote. \u201cThe initial feeling resulting from what he had done was that the company had been betrayed by a person who felt as much like a family member as a coworker.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">In the aftermath, Skico is a different company, current executives said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">\u201c\u2026 Derek\u2019s actions have forced us to balance that culture with a more dispassionate pragmatism,\u201d Kaplan wrote.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">The senior vice president wrote of Skico spending \u201csignificant monies on loss prevention measures and systems upgrades\u201d meant \u201cto protect our assets and employees and ensure crimes like this never happen again.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">A man who worked for eight years with Johnson \u2014 who served one term on the Aspen City Council from 2009 to 2012 and ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 2013 \u2014 in Skico\u2019s rental\/retail division said the former executive left the company with \u201cserious trust issues.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">\u201cBecause of the magnitude of Derek\u2019s crimes, upper management lacks trust in the rental\/retail employees \u2026 and we underwent an upheaval in company policy to prevent this from happening again,\u201d the man wrote in a letter to Seldin before Johnson\u2019s January sentencing. \u201cWe have had privileges taken away from us and our day-to-day duties have been put under a microscope even though we didn\u2019t do anything wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">David Clark, Skico vice president and associate general counsel, succinctly summed up the reason Johnson was able to get away with his scheme for long.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">\u201cThe answer is simple,\u201d he said at Johnson\u2019s sentencing in January. \u201cWe trusted Derek Johnson.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">That deep-seated sense of betrayal extends to many of the other large and small embezzlement cases that have occurred in the Aspen area during the past 25 years.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">Leonard \u201cBoogie\u201d Weinglass, owner of the now-defunct Boogie\u2019s Diner, expressed similar sentiments 20 years ago, when his former bookkeeper was sentenced.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">\u201cWhen you trust somebody, you trust somebody,\u201d Weinglass said in March 1999, according to an Aspen Times story. \u201cBut I feel like an idiot today. Everyday for nine years she came to work and carried this out. It was all premeditated.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/aspens-enduring-embezzlement-problem\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Derek Johnson sits in the jury box Tuesday with his Denver-based lawyer, Pamela Mackey, after being sentenced to six years in prison for stealing and selling more than 13,000 pairs of skis that belonged to his employer, the Aspen Skiing Co.. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times Former Aspen Skiing Co., executive Derek Johnson [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2455403","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-local-news"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-18 12:08:34","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSPN The Valley&#039;s Quality Rock","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2455403","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2455403"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2455403\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2455403"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2455403"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2455403"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}