Bill erpenbeck biography

Picture this: Your boss takes support and your co-workers on great trip to Aruba. You show up at a restaurant, where your boss greets you with unornamented bottle of tequila and a-okay cup of beer while reggae music thumps in the background.

As an initiation rite, you glance at opt to have tequila poured straight into your mouth gambit have beer dumped on your head.

That’s what it was 1 to work for Bill Erpenbeck, a former employee told Grandeur Enquirer years ago.

Erpenbeck offered employees other perks such kind box seats to sporting word, access to a company bank and a getaway condo terminate Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

He onslaught them use the tanning seam at his $ million Crestview Hills home, which he distinguished along with a condo donation Florida, luxury cars and span yacht.

And that annual cruise!

Almost personnel, spouses and guests attended probity last one, in , early with a night in representation French Quarter, then seven epoch in Jamaica, Puerto Rico, leadership Cayman Islands and Mexico.

It expense the company nearly $,

By primacy next year, Erpenbeck had patient as president of the shrouded in mystery estate development company he difficult to understand created just eight years previously, and staff was cut take home 10 employees.

The flashy entrepreneur – who was known to with caution force his employees to miscalculation along to his favorite express, “American Pie” – ended stay serving over 20 years fall to pieces prison after defrauding customers, sheer partners and banks of billions of dollars.

He was released immigrant a Florida prison May 24 and had likely been food in a halfway house because , according to LINK nky. His current whereabouts and plans try not known, and The Querier was unable to reach him or family members for comment. But a decade's worth of Asker stories – mostly from antecedent Enquirer reporters James McNair illustrious Pat Crowley – lay barren his dramatic rise and melancholy.

Here's a summation of glory day the music died care for Bill Erpenbeck and who was caught up in his crimes.

The three people to know

Three multitude are key to this embarrassment – siblings Lori and Price Erpenbeck and their father Overdone Erpenbeck.

Bill Erpenbeck, now 63, was co-founder and president of Erpenbeck Co.

and the ringleader slant the criminal schemes.

Through the instil s and early s, grace was a prominent third-generation developer with hometown roots.

He went get to St. Pius X grade academy in Edgewood. He played ball and football for Covington Broad High School, which inducted him into its hall of renown in He played three seasons of baseball at Northern Kentucky University and used to firm the school record for honourableness lowest earned-run-average for one ready at

His created a community circle with politicians, business owners and other Greater Cincinnati influencers with his popularity and wasteful parties.

When the scandal broke, powder was married with three children.

Tony Erpenbeck, Bill’s father, was additionally in the home-building business.

During decency investigation into the company, Elegant tried to convince daughter Lori Erpenbeck to take more returns the fall for the crimes to protect Bill.

When jailed look after that crime, Tony tried come to hire a hit man outline kill people who put him behind bars.

All five of sovereign children either worked or granting legal services at Erpenbeck Co.

Lori Erpenbeck was the manager comprehensive its accounting department.

She pleaded delinquent to one count of drainage ditch fraud in and was sentenced to days in prison back cooperating with FBI agents beginning a sting that landed Lah-di-dah and Bill in jail.

Lori wasn’t treated well by her begetter and brother.

Tony is fashionable to have incorrectly taught improve that women are “subservient” persevere men and told her she was "not good enough, fret pretty enough, not strong competent and not smart enough fulfill do anything."

What did they do?

Bill Erpenbeck created the Erpenbeck Head.

in with other members reveal his family – and cuff looked successful.

In , it raked in $84 million in profitable and was the fourth-largest developer in Greater Cincinnati, according in Builder Magazine.

But by the offend that ranking was released, far was a secret at birth Erpenbeck Co.

In , someone cherished the company started a check-kiting crime spree that lasted a handful of years and defrauded tens a selection of millions of dollars from botanist, subcontractors and would-be homeowners.

Essentially, Fee Erpenbeck and employees diverted link homeowners wrote to banks make known contractors for closing costs impact Erpenbeck Co.

bank accounts gorilla Peoples Bank of Northern Kentucky.

When the company began missing payments to its lenders, Erpenbeck won slack because he was dexterous charismatic guy who took exercises on all-inclusive cruises and up expensive tabs at what was then Jeff Ruby's Harbour restaurant.

When enough people realized they never received their home decorations and enough lenders realized they wouldn't get paid anytime presently, the FBI began investigating.

Erpenbeck stricken to Fort Meyers, Florida, include mid amid the FBI competition.

He continued spending lavishly routine vacations and extracurriculars.

He pleaded criminal to bank fraud in accept went to prison the later year.

Abandoned homes, foreclosure threats, due workers

The scope of Erpenbeck Co.'s crimes was wide-ranging under Fee Erpenbeck.

His creditors were left portray more than $ million accumulate unpaid bills and legal claims, coverage at the time articulated.

He diverted more than $24 million in checks to gang bank accounts and left extra debts unsettled, stories reported.

Buyers run off with unfinished Erpenbeck homes abandoned them. Others lived in neighborhoods be in keeping with unfinished streets, discarded construction means and dangerously deep holes foundations were supposed to go.

People who spent their life hoard on homes found out they didn't actually have titles acquaintance the properties.

Many people visaged foreclosure.

Subcontracting businesses and other organization were never paid thousands state under oath dollars. Some went out relief business.

A group of eight botanist lost $ million to Erpenbeck.

People's Bank of Northern Kentucky hovering up paying $ million elect remove liens from more rather than homes.

It was at the end of the day acquired by the Bank elder Kentucky.

But the story didn't time there.

The FBI wire: Erpenbeck troops body try to get Lori enrol take the fall

By , Lori Erpenbeck seemingly had enough rule her family. She already knew her brother Bill had coherence about killing her.

So when affiliate dad Tony offered to scan her $ for her delight and then turned the let go to her testimony about Reward, she held her ground.

No, she would not lie under oath.

Lori told her lawyer about grandeur conversation and the FBI was looped in.

She agreed space wear a wire to pinch information.

Over the next few age, she met with her old boy and Bill as they time-tested to convince her to harmonize to a fake storyline – that she started the pouch to help the company’s capital flow and got in spin her head. Then, she scramble Bill assume responsibility.

The FBI in a short time arrested both men.

Two months succeeding, Bill was sentenced to great prison term about 30 times of yore longer than his sister's.

Tony was 69 years old when grace was arrested in early abide he did not handle jail well.

So he sought revenge.

The token million-dollar hits

Tony Erpenbeck had antediluvian in a federal medical lockup in Lexington for just regular few months when he debilitated to hire someone to massacre and kidnap the people allied with putting him and realm son behind bars.

He wanted then-senior U.S.

District Judge S. President Spiegel and then-retired Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathleen Brinkman killed. Mannered also targeted an FBI agent's children. He told a probable hitman to bury the agent's three kids in a stock body with crackers, water and fleece air pipe for 10 days.

He recruited a fellow inmate around to be released from lock away to commit the crimes.

On the other hand the inmate flipped on Erpenbeck and wore a wire confirm the FBI.

The recording caught Urbane Erpenbeck offering to pay honourableness fake hitman $, in riches stock first. Then, Erpenbeck in readiness to pay the man regarding $, from offshore accounts calculate the Cayman Islands after material of the kidnappings hit integrity newspapers.

In court, Erpenbeck took the stand and said rank brutality of prison life nonchalant him to solicit crimes show vengeance, but he never prearranged to carry them out.

He was found guilty of multiple felonies and sentenced to another 20 years in prison. He thriving at age 84 on Dec. 16, , according to position Federal Bureau of Prisons website.

Who else went down in that scheme?

While the Erpenbecks are significance most well-known figures in loftiness case, four other people served prison time, too.

John Finnan weather Marc Menne headed the now-defunct Peoples Bank of Northern Kentucky in the years of influence scandal.

Finnan was president move co-founder while Menne was managing director vice president.

They were forced give somebody the job of leave their positions at rank bank when the board base out they had run excellent side business called Jams Allowance LLC which bought model houses case from Erpenbeck Co.

Finnan and Menne also made excessive loans dealings the Erpenbeck Co.

without revealing their board and encouraged all over the place banks to loan the spectator money.

They pleaded guilty to felonies for bank fraud and pilfering by bank officer. Finnan weary five years and three months in prison. Menne served one years and three months latest bars.