'A Whole Bunch Of Incarceration' For Arapahoe County Con Man

CENTENNIAL, Colo. (CBS4) -- After bilking a business owner and building contractors out of more than half a million dollars, 61-year-old Larry McGee was sentenced to more than 30 years in prison last week.

A judge sent McGee to the Colorado Department of Corrections, handing him a term of 34.5 years.

McGee cut off his ankle monitor and skipped out on his trial in Arapahoe County District Court last September, but was convicted by a jury anyhow on all 21 charges -- including 15 felonies -- despite his absence.

He was arrested in Boulder in October.

Monday, District Court Judge Patricia Herron wedded McGee to the penalty he had been avoiding for years.

According to the District Attorney's Office, an Arapahoe County property owner contacted sheriff's office investigators in January of 2014. He told them a tenant had not paid rent for two years. In addition, that tenant has arranged for upgrades and enhancements to the property but had not paid of the contractors for their work.

That tenant, McGee, wrote bad checks to the contractors. He extended the duration of his scheme by impersonating a local attorney and forging deposit slips and wire transfer records.

He delayed his own court case, too, four years.

"After 51 months, Larry McGee has finally received the sentence he justly deserves," said District Attorney George Brauchler. "McGee cowardly ran from the jury trial he picked. To paraphrase Chris Rock: If you make the justice system chase after you, it's bringing a whole bunch of incarceration with it."