Three Charged With Theft In Paving Swindle -- Five 80-Year-Old People Were Among The Victims

Three people were charged today with preying on unsuspecting victims in an asphalt-paving swindle that resulted in gross overcharges for at least 10 victims.

"This was an outrageous and cruel hoax that targeted the elderly. . . . Five of the victims were in their 80s," said King County Prosecutor Norm Maleng.

Charged were Richard William Casey Sr., 56, and his sons, Billy Joe Casey, 34, and Richard William Casey Jr., 32. They were arrested in Moses Lake by King County detectives and are being held in the King County Jail in lieu of $50,000 bail each.

In one of the incidents, an 81-year-old woman, Anne Kochevar of Maple Valley, was approached by Billy Joe Casey on Feb. 26, according to court papers. Casey told her that he and his crew were doing paving work on Highway 18, had asphalt left over from the job, and offered to pave Kochevar's driveway.

The Caseys didn't give an estimate on the work, but Kochevar was told the charge would be $1 per square foot of paving, according to the prosecutor. Hot asphalt was spread over the unpaved driveway, with no preparation or grading.

The asphalt was less than an inch thick in many places and was not uniformly applied, according to the charges. "They completed the work in two hours. Grass and weeds began to grow through the thin areas of the asphalt within a month."

Kochevar was billed $8,989 for the work, which figured out to $2 a square foot.

After Kochevar's relatives told the Caseys that police had been notified about the poor work, the money was refunded with a cashier's check, a method Maleng said is commonly used to try to defuse investigations by satisfying individual victims who do complain.

Maleng said well over $100,000 was collected by the Caseys, who are believed to be from Texas. They had worked in several states, however, including Oregon, where an outstanding complaint had been filed with the Oregon Department of Licensing over substandard paving work.

Casey Asphalt Paving actually operated in the Seattle area from a mail drop and answering service in Snohomish. The family lived in a trailer park in Issaquah with several other groups of traveling asphalt pavers. The Caseys operated a fleet of vehicles, including three dump trucks licensed in Oregon, three heavy-equipment trailers licensed in Washington and Arizona and other equipment licensed in Oregon.

Six vehicles and $12,000 in cash were seized during the arrests, and other seizures are expected to be made.

Each of the three defendants was charged with nine counts of first-degree theft and one count of attempted first-degree theft. Casey Sr. and Billy Joe Casey also were each charged with two counts of money laundering, and the senior Casey also faces a charge of leading organized crime.