Murder-by-snake plot alleged

2 Lakewood men accused of plan to kill poker host

Marilyn Robinson, Special to The Rocky

Published August 18, 2007 at midnight

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Two Lakewood men have been arrested on suspicion of plotting to kill a Texas Hold'em poker game operator by putting him in a box with rattlesnakes because he allegedly owed one of the men $60,000.

Herbert Paul Beck, 56, was arrested Thursday night in Raton, N.M., and Christopher Lee Steelman, 34, was arrested Wednesday night in Lakewood after a probe by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.

Beck is accused of hiring Steelman to kill Matthew Sowash, owner of Amateur Poker Tour in Wheat Ridge.

The two suspects were jailed on suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder, conspiracy to commit kidnapping and extortion. Beck is being held in Raton and Steelman in the Jefferson County Jail in Golden. Their bail has been set at $500,000 each.

According to arrest affidavits, Sowash's company contracts with Denver-area bars to stage Texas Hold'em-style poker games.

Beck told investigators he invested $36,000 in the company last December but figured Sowash owed him $60,000, counting interest and other assistance, and he wasn't getting his money back.

The two suspects talked about ways to kill Sowash, and Beck proposed the rattlesnakes, Steelman told investigators.

Steelman said he was to build a wooden box for Sowash to stand in that would hold the snakes, and "the lid was to be built to allow Sowash's legs to be put inside but not pulled out." The plan was to leave the rattlesnake-bitten Sowash on a hiking trail.

The two also talked about tampering with Sowash's vehicle to cause it to crash.

"The final and most disturbing method to Steelman was Beck wanting to kidnap Sowash's children and use them as leverage to get the money from Sowash," according to the affidavits.

Several threatening e-mails were sent to Sowash, the affidavits said. CBI agents learned of the plot from Sowash, and the arrests followed.

"The arrests in this complicated case resulted from the diligent work of CBI Agent Ralph Gagliardi and others in the gaming unit," Agent in Charge Bob Brown said.

Beck was arrested on third- degree assault charges last year in Trinidad in an incident in a law office and was given a one-year deferred sentence in June.

He has an extensive police record, including arrests for larceny, forgery, fraud, assault, resisting arrest, failure to appear and contempt of court. He also has a record with federal authorities that includes making false statements and theft of public monies, according to the arrest affidavits.

Steelman had an arrest record in North Carolina for breaking and entering, according to the affidavits.

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