Sentinel NORTHGLENN 1.31.13
Northglenn -Thornton
January 31, 2013
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A Colorado Community Media Publication
ournorthglennnews.com, ourthorntonnews.com
Adams County, Colorado • Volume 49, Issue 25
Daveco owner relinquishes ownership By Darin Moriki
dmoriki@ourcoloradonews.com The owner of the world’s largest liquor stores, Daveco Liquors, must relinquish control of his store to an independent blind trust for two years due to his role in a multimillion dollar racketeering scheme that defrauded the city of Thornton as well as the Colorado Department of Revenue. The move, which would allow for a third-party trustee to eventually sell the business, is part of an 11-page Department of Revenue’s Liquor and Tobacco Enforcement Division agree-
ment that names Daveco Liquors owner Hani “Henry” Sawaged, of Highlands Ranch, and his four brothers, Issam Sawaged, Ghassan D. Sawaged, Bassam D. Sawaged and Shafeek Sawaged as respondents. The family members also own Davidsons Liquors at 5555 Boatworks Drive in Highlands Ranch, but that store has not been implicated in the ruling. According to the Guinness Book of World Records website, the 100,073.1-square-foot Daveco Liquors store at 16434 Washington St. in Thornton opened on Nov. 18, 2006 and still holds the title for the world’s largest “off-
license” liquor store. Denver District Attorney’s Office communications director Lynn Kimbrough said the Department of Revenue investigation into Daveco Liquors began in September 2008, when the city Auditor’s Office discovered inconsistencies in sales tax amounts reported to the city during a routine sales tax audit. The case was then turned over to the Thornton Police Department and the Colorado Department of Revenue, which found that Sawaged and his brothers logged fictitious merchandise returns and pocketed $5.4 million dollars in cash from Daveco Li-
quors from at least January 2007 through August 2008. In all, court documents state the underreporting and underpaying sales tax to the city of Thornton and to the Colorado Department of Revenue resulted in losses exceeding $1 million. Hani Sawaged pleaded guilty in November 2012 to violating the Colorado Organized Crime Control Act in Denver District Court and was sentenced to two years of supervised probation. Hani Sawaged was also ordered to pay $1.3 million in restitution to the state and the city of Thornton. In exchange for his guilty plea, the Denver District Attorney’s
Office and Denver District Court dropped a total of 51 other felony charges against him, including 20 counts of filing false tax returns, three counts of theft exceeding $20,000 and four computer crime charges. Hani Sawaged’s two brothers, Ghassan D. Sawaged and Bassam D. Sawaged, pleaded guilty in August 2012 to one count of felony theft exceeding $15,000 and one felony count of failing to file a tax return. Both men are serving a one-year deferred judgment sentence and have been ordered to jointly pay $200,000 in restitution for their role in the scheme.
County, NURA face off
EXPLORE SCIENCE
Disagreement stems from alleged losses in urban renewal revenue By Darin Moriki
dmoriki@ourcoloradonews.com
Explore Elementary School fifth-grader Hunter Briley stands next to his teacher Kachine Kulick while observing different projects during the Mapleton Public Schools Science Fair Thursday, Jan. 25, in Thornton. Photo by Andy Carpenean
The state appellate court will attempt to settle an ongoing dispute between Adams County and the Northglenn Urban Renewal Authority to determine whether the county Assessor’s Office miscalculated the distribution of tax revenue paid to NURA. NURA is a governmental entity created by Northglenn City Council in 1990 to improve business areas in the city. Denver attorney Jeff Parker, who represented NURA, said the dispute began in 2004, when the Northglenn City Council added several undeveloped properties to NURA’s original boundaries set in 1992 — an area that included the former Northglenn Mall located to the west of Interstate 25 and West 104th Avenue. This process then opened up redevelopment financing for these added areas called tax increment financing (TIF), which is collected through sales and property-tax increases exceeding the rate that, in this case, was set in 2004. Face Off continues on Page 24
Suspected drunk driver killed by deputy ID’d Investigation ongoing, deputy on paid leave By Darin Moriki
dmoriki@ourcoloradonews.com The suspected drunk driver who was fatally shot by an Adams County Sheriff’s Office deputy
nearly two weeks ago has been identified as Robert Penning, a 45-year-old Denver resident. Sheriff’s Office spokesman Sgt. Paul Gregory said Penning’s name, which was briefly withheld at the
request of his family, was first released by the Adams County Coroner’s Office on Jan. 18 before being confirmed by the Sheriff’s Office on Jan. 22 Gregory also confirmed that Senior Deputy Manuel Aragon, the deputy who allegedly shot
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Penning, has been placed on paid administrative leave while the Adams County Critical Incident Team investigates the shooting. Adams County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Sgt. Terrance O’Neill said the shooting happened around 6 p.m. on Jan. 14 shortly after two deputies were dispatched to a stretch of road near East 142nd Avenue and Quebec Street to respond to a Report Every Drunk Driver Immediately (REDDI) call. O’Neill said the caller was following Penning’s car and reported to dispatchers that he had flipped over his dark-colored sedan to the side of the road. At the scene, deputies reported that Penning had sustained a heavy amount of damage to his
car and was crouched down by the caller’s car with what appeared to be a case a beer. O’Neill said one of the deputies was assessing the Penning’s condition by asking him questions and giving verbal instructions, when he stood up and pointed a handgun at them. Aragon then drew his weapon and fired two rounds at Penning, who then fell to the ground. Brighton and Thornton Fire Departments personnel attempted to render aid, but soon pronounced him dead at the scene. The Adams County Coroner’s Office later wrote in a Jan. 18 press release that Penning had died “as a result of a single gunshot wound to the chest.”