Steve Bachar listens as his attorney, Robert Swestka, speaks during a hearing in Denver District Court on Friday, March 10, 2023. (BusinessDen file)
As state and local officials investigate his March 15 death, internal prison records suggest that former lawyer and businessman Steve Bachar was in good spirits and good health — so much so that he was able to run a half-marathon — in the weeks before he died.
Bachar, 58, was found unresponsive at the Rifle Correctional Center, where he was serving a three-year term for theft, on that morning in mid-March. First aid and CPR were performed until first responders could reach the prison, according to Garfield County’s coroner.
“The cause of death is pending toxicology and microscopic examination by the pathologist,” said coroner Rob Glassmire, who expects to finalize an autopsy sometime this month. “The manner of death is being investigated and is most consistent with a natural death.”
The Colorado Department of Corrections expects to conclude its own investigation into the former inmate’s death in late April or the first half of May, a spokeswoman said.
Meanwhile, 33 pages from Bachar’s prison file that BusinessDen obtained in a records request reveal that he was preparing to leave the Rifle Correctional Center before he died there.
“Bachar informed me today that he is going to community (corrections) soon in Durango. He is very happy, albeit surprised, and said he knew that I would appreciate hearing the good news since he knows I care,” a case manager wrote March 14, the day before his death.
Community corrections, more commonly known as halfway houses, allow low-risk inmates greater freedom than prisons. Bachar, who would have been eligible for parole in February 2025, was eager to move into a halfway house. Records show he first applied for a transfer in January, two months after he was sentenced, and grew sullen when initially denied.
“But he remained optimistic that he is going to use this time to better himself,” a prison guard noted Feb. 23. “He is going to run a half-marathon in a few days on the track.”
Someone Bachar knew — the person’s name is redacted — was planning to run the same 13.1-mile distance at the same time on the same day, the guard’s notes indicate.
Bachar parlayed his work on Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign into a White House job before moving his political and legal career to Denver in the 2000s. He worked in politics as a public policy attorney and adviser, then moved onto business pursuits in the 2010s.
In 2017, Bachar convinced a former friend, Jamie Lindsay, to invest $125,000 in his company, Empowerment Capital, and also to loan him $142,000. Bachar used the money for personal expenses and Lindsay never received a share in Empowerment or a refund. Bachar pleaded guilty to theft and was sentenced to three years in prison in November.
At his sentencing hearing, Bachar referred to unspecified health challenges.
“As your honor knows, I have some pretty significant health issues that I know focus me on the need to live a good, open, honest life going forward, so I don’t waste any more time,” he told Denver District Court Judge Eric Johnson.
Bachar’s file shows that he was a model inmate who volunteered to pick up trash along the prison’s running track, worked extra hours at a job in the gym and helped inmates with their legal cases. He exercised and played video games in his free time, the records show.
“Mr. Bachar appears to take responsibility for his actions that led him to prison,” a case manager noted Jan. 31. “He recognizes his actions caused pain both emotionally and financially.”
Steve Bachar listens as his attorney, Robert Swestka, speaks during a hearing in Denver District Court on Friday, March 10, 2023. (BusinessDen file)
As state and local officials investigate his March 15 death, internal prison records suggest that former lawyer and businessman Steve Bachar was in good spirits and good health — so much so that he was able to run a half-marathon — in the weeks before he died.
Bachar, 58, was found unresponsive at the Rifle Correctional Center, where he was serving a three-year term for theft, on that morning in mid-March. First aid and CPR were performed until first responders could reach the prison, according to Garfield County’s coroner.
“The cause of death is pending toxicology and microscopic examination by the pathologist,” said coroner Rob Glassmire, who expects to finalize an autopsy sometime this month. “The manner of death is being investigated and is most consistent with a natural death.”
The Colorado Department of Corrections expects to conclude its own investigation into the former inmate’s death in late April or the first half of May, a spokeswoman said.
Meanwhile, 33 pages from Bachar’s prison file that BusinessDen obtained in a records request reveal that he was preparing to leave the Rifle Correctional Center before he died there.
“Bachar informed me today that he is going to community (corrections) soon in Durango. He is very happy, albeit surprised, and said he knew that I would appreciate hearing the good news since he knows I care,” a case manager wrote March 14, the day before his death.
Community corrections, more commonly known as halfway houses, allow low-risk inmates greater freedom than prisons. Bachar, who would have been eligible for parole in February 2025, was eager to move into a halfway house. Records show he first applied for a transfer in January, two months after he was sentenced, and grew sullen when initially denied.
“But he remained optimistic that he is going to use this time to better himself,” a prison guard noted Feb. 23. “He is going to run a half-marathon in a few days on the track.”
Someone Bachar knew — the person’s name is redacted — was planning to run the same 13.1-mile distance at the same time on the same day, the guard’s notes indicate.
Bachar parlayed his work on Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign into a White House job before moving his political and legal career to Denver in the 2000s. He worked in politics as a public policy attorney and adviser, then moved onto business pursuits in the 2010s.
In 2017, Bachar convinced a former friend, Jamie Lindsay, to invest $125,000 in his company, Empowerment Capital, and also to loan him $142,000. Bachar used the money for personal expenses and Lindsay never received a share in Empowerment or a refund. Bachar pleaded guilty to theft and was sentenced to three years in prison in November.
At his sentencing hearing, Bachar referred to unspecified health challenges.
“As your honor knows, I have some pretty significant health issues that I know focus me on the need to live a good, open, honest life going forward, so I don’t waste any more time,” he told Denver District Court Judge Eric Johnson.
Bachar’s file shows that he was a model inmate who volunteered to pick up trash along the prison’s running track, worked extra hours at a job in the gym and helped inmates with their legal cases. He exercised and played video games in his free time, the records show.
“Mr. Bachar appears to take responsibility for his actions that led him to prison,” a case manager noted Jan. 31. “He recognizes his actions caused pain both emotionally and financially.”
