Former Lake Tahoe Brewery owner sentenced by Carson City judge for felony attempted theft
The former owner of the Lake Tahoe Brewing Company in Carson City, which closed down in January 2016, was sentenced Thursday for felony attempted theft after pleading guilty.
Michael Alexander Candelario was sentenced by District Court Judge James Wilson. Under the law, the court could elect to treat the case as a gross misdemeanor or as a felony. Judge Wilson elected to treat the conviction as a felony.
Candelario was sentenced to 12 to 48 months in prison, but that prison term was suspended and he was placed on probation.
The case was investigated by Carson City Sheriff's Office Detective Sam Hatley and prosecuted by Carson City District Attorney Jason Woodbury.
The victim in the case, Michael Lewis, made an oral statement to the court at sentencing. Lewis, a U.S. military veteran, was forced to cash out his retirement after losing tens of thousands when he made a deal with Candelario on brewing equipment.
The following are portions of what Lewis said in court:
"I began to accept that our money was lost. My mental state began to suffer immensely, and the stress was impacting my family. We had no choice, but to sacrifice everything to keep the business alive. We were in the process of purchasing a home in our community. In 2015, this home was going for about $275,000, and we were leveraging most of our savings for the down payment. To keep the business afloat, we instead used our savings and had to liquidate my retirement investment that I had had for almost 20 years. We had to let that deal fall through to use the money for the business," said Lewis.
"My marriage and family have suffered immensely. The hours I’ve had to put into this business are well beyond most in my industry and did not create a sustainable environment for my young family. My wife at that time was making birthday books for each of our daughters for their birthdays. These books contain pictures of the past year of family and activities they experienced. I wasn’t until a few years later, sitting with my youngest daughter and looking through her books, that I realize I’m almost completely absent from these books. There are hardly any pictures of me with my children in some of the most important years of their lives," said Lewis.
"I spent 20 years serving my country for the greater good, and I am willing to suffer the consequences of that service. I am not willing to suffer the consequences of his crime and have me and my family as the only ones that suffer punishment for his crimes," said Lewis.