Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified a person indicted in the case because of an error in the indictment. This report has since been updated.
The former general manager of a Northern Kentucky metal supplier is accused of carrying out a scheme to steal equipment and supplies from his employer for use at his own rival business, court records show.
In April, a Boone County grand jury indicted 68-year-old David Mersch of Florence on charges of engaging in organized crime, receiving stolen property and multiple counts of theft, court records show.
Five others were also charged: Mark Goetz of Edgewood, Jordan Maltaner of Edgewood, Tammi Jackson and her husband, Thomas Jackson, of Dry Ridge, and Curtis Prather of New Liberty.
They all appeared in court before Circuit Court Judge James Schrand for an arraignment Wednesday afternoon and pleaded not guilty.
The incidents happened from February 2021 to February 2023, according to the indictments.
Investigators say Mersch was using materials, tools and equipment stolen from his employer, Walton-based Boone Steel, at the site of his new business on Commercial Drive in Burlington.
Boone County deputies arrested Mersch in February after he tried to have the stolen items taken back to Boone Steel before other employees arrived at the workplace, a criminal citation states.
The deputies found a stolen trailer, welder and other equipment valued at more than $30,000 in Mersch's possession, the citation states, but he later admitted during an interview that $70,000 worth of material at the Commercial Drive property had been stolen from Boone Steel.
Mersch is the former operations officer for the Cincinnati offices of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He was sentenced in January 2012 to four years in prison for accepting bribes from a construction company executive in exchange for awarding contracts to that company, federal prosecutors say.
He was hired by Boone Steel after his release from prison and was eventually promoted to general manager − the highest position in the company, according to a lawsuit filed in February by Boone Steel.
While in that position, the lawsuit states, Mersch conspired with Goetz and others to create and operate a competitor company dubbed "All In Steel" using labor, materials and equipment belonging to Boone Steel.
Mersch was fired in January after the company learned of suspicions that he was executing plans to start a rival business, the lawsuit states.
While the court documents reveal sparse details about what the other five defendants are accused of, Mersch and the others participated in crimes "with the purpose of establishing, maintaining or facilitating a criminal syndicate," the indictments say.
In court filings, Boone Steel described Maltaner as Mersch's "loyal lieutenant" and Prather as the person who worked on the shop floor and transported the stolen property to the Burlington business.
The Jacksons worked in the office and had control over order entry, invoicing and inventory, the lawsuit states.
Goetz is the only one not employed by Boone Steel, though the company's lawsuit claims he was the "money person" who funded the operation through "seed money" he obtained by selling a farm.
"Mr. Goetz is a successful businessman. He had no reason to nor did he participate in any criminal activity. The allegations against him are fantastical," Stacey Graus, the attorney representing Goetz, said in a statement to The Enquirer.
Mersch's attorney has yet to respond to messages from The Enquirer seeking comment and Prather's attorney declined to comment.
Court records did not list attorney information for Maltaner or the Jacksons as of Friday afternoon.
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