Patrick Keough of Seward was sentenced Monday, March 13, in U.S. District Court in Omaha to six months in prison for two counts of violating the Clean Air Act. Keough is the owner of America’s Fiberglass Animals in Seward.
Most recently, Keough was involved in a statewide public art project to celebrate Nebraska’s 150th state anniversary. The project includes 93 fiberglass hearts which are being decorated by artists across the state.
The United States Attorney charged Keough on Nov. 21, 2016, with two counts of violation of the Clean Air Act.
According to court documents on Count 1, on or before July 2010, Keough caused the negligent and unlawful release into the ambient air of a hazardous air pollutant, and in doing so negligently placed other people in imminent danger of death and serious bodily injury. The violation occurred when paints and thinners purchased by Keough, which contained hazardous air pollutants were used by him and his employees at America’s Fiberglass Animals.
According to Count 2, from on or before May 2013, Keough caused the negligent and unlawful release into the ambient air of a hazardous air pollutant and in doing so placed people in imminent danger of death and serious bodily injury.
According to court documents, Keough pleaded guilty to both counts in November 2016.
He was sentenced to six months in the U.S. Bureau of Prisons and one year of supervised release.
In June 2014, Keough was charged in Seward County District Court with 10 felony counts of theft by deception. Keough entered a plea of not guilty to all counts according to a document filed July 7, 2014. A motion to dismiss counts 5, 6, 7, 9 and 10 was approved Dec. 22, 2014. No reason was given.
According to a court document filed April 4, 2016, in Seward County District Court, a motion to continue was filed by Gregory Damman, attorney for Patrick Keough, on April 4, 2016. The document requested that the jury trial scheduled for April 19, 2016, be rescheduled to the May or June term. It stated that Keough was making progress on terms related to a proposed plea agreement.
A motion to dismiss the case was approved April 15, 2016, but no reason was given on the court document.
According to court records, the amounts included in each count of theft were:
Aubrey Rose Foundation
Count 1: $21,000
Count 2: $3,528
Count 3: $13,900
Kirby Parade Floats
Count 4: $2,000
U.S. Money Reserve
Count 5: $12,000
The Quilt Shop
Count 6: $600
Pitzer’s Fine Arts
Count 7: $17,400
The Spotted Horse Gift and Gallery
Count 8: $1,500
Nebraska Bar & Grill
Count 9: $1,200
Excelsior Orthopedics
County 10: $1,800
Rob Pitzer with Pitzer’s Fine Arts in Wimberley, Texas, is wondering why the case was dismissed.
According to Pitzer, he and a small group of art gallery owners gathered to create a public sculpture project in January 2014 to place sculptures through the city and attract visitors. Pitzer said the group contacted various custom fiberglass fabricators about the sculptures, which were 6-foot cowboy boots. The committee ordered and paid for 30 boots, at a total of $17,400. Pitzer said Keough delivered the first boot to Wimberley on March 22, 2014, but they never received the remaining 29 boots or any money back.
“Even though it was a setback for us, we were able to overcome it, and the project was very successful,” Lynn Myers, a member of the project steering committee, said.
Myers said the committee and Keough had agreed on a $600 fee per boot if the committee paid in advanced. She said early on, the committee felt comfortable with what Keough was telling them.
“We didn’t have a clue that he wouldn’t deliver,” she said.
According to Myers, Keough told the committee he could deliver all of the boots by the end of April. She said that was their deadline because they wanted all of the boots painted by the community’s July 4 celebration.
As the deadline started getting closer, Myers said the committee started having bad feelings because of the excuses Keough was giving about the progress on the boots.
Myers said in good faith, Keough told them he would send a boot.
“After hearing repeated excuses, we started getting really nervous,” Myers said.
At the end of April, the committee decided it couldn’t wait any longer and began seeking out other options. Myers said Keough sent 10 more boots after the committee had already gone to another supplier. To date, the committee never received the remaining 19 boots.
While the completion of the project had to be postponed until the fall of 2014, the committee was happy with how its project turned out.
They don’t want what happened to them to happen to other people, though.
“I think the biggest sore that we still have over this is that he’s still out there, still doing this, and nobody’s doing anything about it,” Pitzer said. “The local law enforcement did not do their job here.”
Pitzer said he has had no communication from any of the attorney’s involved about the case being dismissed. At press time, no information was available from the Seward County Attorney’s office regarding this case and why it was dismissed.
Liz Shea-McCoy, director of the state’s art project “Nebraska by Heart,” said she was unaware of any previous criminal charges against Keough. She said the project is on track, and he has been great to work with.
