Bill Clary has beaten accusations of forgery, fraud and
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independent Sept. 9-15, 2004 17 Bill Clary has beaten accusations of forgery, fraud and soliciting a murder- for-hire. Now, the government is investigating him over millions missing from Fort Carson. By Terje Langeland M iddle-aged, of average height, slightly stocky and with salt-and-pepper hair, William Leroy Clary draws little atten- tion to himself. In conversations, he’s calm and com- posed. He habitually answers questions with his own, rhetorical queries. He speaks softly, with a vague hint of a smile — even as he derides his adver- saries as “liars” or “crazy.” Between 1994 and 2001, the 58-year- old Clary — a carpenter and college dropout from Nebraska — built from nothing a business empire, based in Colorado and Texas, that specialized in construction work for the federal gov- ernment and at its peak took in $30 million in annual revenues. In the process, Clary was accused of forgery, fraud and even soliciting a murder-for-hire. None of the accusa- tions stuck. But Clary built a house of cards. For reasons still being sorted out, his operations collapsed in 2001, leaving sev- eral people and businesses in financial ruin. A key factor in the downfall was an associate’s failure to complete a $58 mil- lion construction job at Fort Carson, which consisted of a complete renovation of 34 barracks on the base. Now, Clary himself acknowledges he owes as much as $20 million to various creditors. Few people have heard of the Fort Carson fiasco, or of Clary. But for the last couple of years, agents from the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Defense have been investigating the case, trying to figure out what happened to millions of dol- lars that the government paid for the unfinished Fort Carson work. Though the agents refuse to com- ment on the case, it appears they’re examining whether Clary, or anyone else associated with the project, some- how absconded with the money. And after years of dodging various accusations against him, Clary believes the feds will ultimately indict him — although he maintains he’s done nothing wrong. “I believe the alle- gations will be some sort of fraud allega- tions,” Clary said in an interview. “Maybe certifying false statements, wire fraud and money laundering.” Behind the scenes Former co-workers and business associates describe Clary as charismat- ic and friendly, yet secretive and low- key at the same time. He rarely dis- cussed his private life with them. “Have you ever met a person you can’t read? That’s the way he was,” said Larry Pourier, a contractor who did business with Clary. “He liked to play that ‘Godfather’ role,” said Bruce Montgomery, who worked for a company that partnered with Clary. “That’s Clary in a nutshell; he was the kind of guy that liked to operate behind the scenes.” People who would later rue the day they met Clary say they trusted him instinc- tively at first. “Clary was very convincing in his sincerity,” observed Richard Huffman, an attorney for one of Clary’s business partners. “He’d talk around in circles.” Bill Rowe, a former Clary employee, said in a 1999 court deposition that, “I got to know Bill’s mind a little bit. He seemed intent upon deception and roundabout methods of gaining control and power.” Born in Nebraska in 1945, Clary served as a radio operator with the Marine Corps from 1965 to 1967, including a tour of duty in Vietnam. He Editor’s note: This is the first in a two-part series resulting from an 18-month Independent investigation about William Clary, a Texas entrepreneur being inves- tigated in connection with the 2001 collapse of a multimillion-dollar construction project at Fort Carson. Part 2 will appear next week . Bill Clary acknowledges he owes as much as $20 million to various creditors. continued on pg. 18 ➔ A $58 million barracks renovation project at Fort Carson spelled the beginning of the end. © 2004 Bruce Elliott
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