Shmuck of the Week: Cesar Corzo and the people who hired him

By Joe Tone Fri., Oct. 30 2009 at 12:56 PM

Categories: Colorado Crimes, Shmuck of the Week

Cesar Corzo's troubling past didn't stop Rite of Passage from hiring him.

Reason number 13,456 not to do something dumb and end up in jail: Former social worker Cesar Corzo.

Corzo, you'll recall -- unless you've blocked it out, for which we couldn't blame you -- is the former Arapahoe County corrections worker accused of being a giant scumbag. As Alan Prendergast reported last week, Corzo is accused of: "bringing illegal drugs into the facility and giving them to his clients; presenting slide shows involving pornographic images during group counseling sessions; bringing in a former female client and allowing his clients to have sex with her; and instituting an 'anti-snitch policy,' whereby any of his clients who divulge what occurs during counseling sessions to outside parties will be (and were) beaten."

Classy stuff!

You can probably understand why he's our Shmuck of the Week. But we're not stopping with him. If you read our post, you'll see a disturbing pattern. Corzo, you see, was disbarred from practicing law in California for charges including cocaine and money laundering... and yet, he was still hired as a therapist at a Littleton psychiatric hospital, which apparently isn't big on background checks. Once there, Prendergast reports, "he allegedly told one female patient that she 'should always be ready for penetration by a man,'" asked a woman with an eating disorder to lift her shirt, saying, "You're still sexy... but I like 'em thin."

With that on his resume, Corzo was able to land his gig at Rite of Passage, a youth correctional program that runs Ridge View Academy in Watkins. That's where he did his latest work, investigators say, bringing in mushrooms and ecstasy for his clients, and enlisting his 28-year-old girlfriend to sleep with the youth offenders.

Good to know those HR people you're paying are doing their jobs, eh?

Consider yourselves shmucked, folks. Call a reference next time.

Meet more shmucks in our Shmuck of the Week archive.

Tags:

Cesar Corzo, Joe Tone, Rite of Passage

Write Comment

Email to Friend

Print Article

Related Content

More About:

I agree with the two of you!!!! Their are so many children that have been abused but RVA doesn't care who they hurt as long as it doesn't interfer with their money or bring in bad media. They lost on this one and I hope all past staff speak out. It is amazing on how they are still running with so much going on. For the client I apologize for any wrongdoing that could have happened to you!!!!! They had a worker thier who they knew was charged for sexually abusing his daughters but still hired him. When the auditors came all of those kinds of files were removed and hidden. The only reason that he resigned on his own. Students at RVA found pornography on his work laptop. He was not terminated or nothing mentioned to the POLICE. In fact he was able to be a contract workers. The employees that ENOUGH is ENOUGH is referring to I know exactly who they are. None of them were terminated but asked to resign. On in fact left dating the student getting involved in the gang seen but now she is a therapist. What wonderful staff. RVA should be shut down not be given more programs to run. All programs need to be looked into with more details to make sure they are doing what they are agreeing to. It's sad that they are being placed for treatment and they are being mistreated!!!!
This was my councelor and I had no issues with him of that sort.He was a bit more open than most but being honest,no real red flags came up. I have no idea what really happened and if it did, that is awful.He was, however, hired to work at CATS methadone clinic in Denver and had worked for (maybe?)6 months.I wonder why the clinic did not check into this IF there were changes of a drug nature or even sexual allegations as most addictis have issues with sexual abuse and being controlled and overpowered by people in their lives they trusted. I am curious as to why the state allowed him to work with seriously venerable addicts IF this was a factor? I want answers! He never made sexual advances or ask for anything innapropeiate.
Ridgeview is well known to employees of hiring such Shmucks as Cesar Corzo. Mr. Bill Wood is a classic. He does nothing to protect the students of RVA but does everthging he could do to protect himself and the program. This is not the first time this has happen at RVA. As being a former employee I have known of at least 4 female staff who have slept with students one giving the resident a STD and one getting pregnant. None received charges just terminated. Mulitiple mulitiple abuse and I mean abuse. These students were literally being beaten however, when these were reports those staff were terminated and escorted off site. Those staff were doing their job. However, Mr. Bill Wood didn't see it that way in all site shift change he explained we NEVER go to SOCIAL SERVICES!!! Though we are manatory reports we are to go to our supervisor first no matter what or him and they will handle it. It was disgusting!!!! Nothing was being done everything was being blamed on the studend and staff were being praised for abusing the kids. Someone really needs to take a look on how RVA handles their inside work. Of course they are going to run well when being monitored but very sneaky otherwise. Also, didn't help when Mr. Bill Woods was really good friends with the female sheriff worker at the time of myself working and so much going on. I don't know about now but all the abusing allegations we dealt with so wrong. The whole management team is awful and a lot of the staff.

TotalComments: 3