Joseph Kolodziej given prison
term for forgery
By
Record-Eagle staff writer
Record-Eagle staff writer
PETOSKEY - He vowed last month to bring minor league hockey back to Traverse City. Instead, a Petoskey man instead faces a long prison sentence.
Joseph Kolodziej, 37, was sentenced to 42 months to 14 years in prison Monday in Emmet County circuit court. He had pleaded guilty to forgery and prosecutors dropped five other felony counts.
Kolodziej's charges stemmed from allegedly opening a credit card account in the name of his employer, Thomas Considine, while Kolodziej was a manager at the Polar Bear Ice Facility in Emmet's Little Traverse Township between April 2003 and last February.
Kolodziej also was general manager of the now-defunct Northern Michigan Predators minor league hockey team.
Kolodziej allegedly said he had power of attorney for Considine, whom he falsely claimed was dying of cancer. Considine told police he learned of the bogus credit card after the credit card company informed him he owed overdue payments of more than $13,000.
As part of the plea agreement, Kolodziej was not charged as a habitual offender for his fourth felony offense. Court records show he was previously convicted of fourth-degree grand larceny in 1988 in Erie County, N.Y.; of check fraud in 1991 in Washtenaw County; and of auto theft in 1993 in Volusia County, Fla.
Red-faced Centre ICE officials last month canceled a press conference to announce Kolodziej as the owner of a new minor-league hockey franchise for Traverse City after news of his long criminal record came to light. Kolodziej's team, which was to compete in the new International Hockey Association, was ultimately rejected.
Arena officials later confessed they had done no personal background check on Kolodziej, and vowed to undertake more diligent reviews in the future.
"We learned a lesson," Centre ICE executive director Terry Marchand told the Record-Eagle last month.
