CLEARFIELD- A Philipsburg man accused of theft for not finishing a home improvement job was found guilty Friday in Clearfield County Court.
Brian T. Barton, 46, 525 E. Spruce St., Philipsburg, was found guilty of theft by deception, theft by failure to make required disposition of funds, home improvement fraud-false or misleading statement, and home improvement fraud-receiving advanced payment.
The jury deliberated for approximately one hour before arriving at the verdict. Barton’s bail was revoked and he was taken into custody. He will be sentenced within 60 days after a pre-trial investigation.
An additional count of home improvement fraud-concealing information was dismissed by President Judge Fredric J. Ammerman after hearing all testimony. District Attorney William A. Shaw Jr. argued that Barton not putting his contractor number on the contract was enough for this charge.
Barton’s attorney, Brian Jones stated that this had nothing to do with Barton trying to conceal his identity because Barton’s name was on the contract. Ammerman ruled that just not putting the number on the contract was not enough for a conviction on this charge.
In an interview after the verdict was announced Shaw said he was “very satisfied” with the result of the trial.
“This is the only justice (the victims) will get out of this whole event,” he said.
He noted that Barton will be put on a payment schedule for the restitution but the victims still “owe a boatload of money to complete it”. The home located in Osceola Mills, is still not livable.
The Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act was established because of these “unsavory contractors”, he explained.
“This sends a message to contractors to be honest in their dealings. I encourage anyone retaining a contractor to check their credentials and get references.” Contractors should register and this information is on the Attorney General’s website, he said.
“We have seen this stuff for years,” Shaw said. “Now with the Home Improvement Act it is easier to identify and prosecute these cases.”
No further testimony was heard Friday in the trial that began on Thursday with the victim, an inspector and a second contractor who worked on the project all witnesses for the Commonwealth. The defense called one witness, another contractor. For the full story click here.
In his closing arguments, Jones stated this was not a criminal but civil case. He admitted there were problems with the contract and defects with the job Barton did complete. This included using 2×4’s instead of 2×6’s in the ceiling. He said the Commonwealth needed to prove Barton intended to defraud the customer. He pointed out Barton had completed some of the work on the project including two additions and the roof. There was no testimony relating to the amount of money Barton spent on the project.
“He has no idea how much the defendant spent on materials and labor, or what he put in his pocket,” Jones said.
Shaw, in his closing arguments stated that Barton would prefer this be a civil case because then he could just declare bankruptcy and not have to pay the money back.
“He took a boatload of money from her and did not complete the work,” Shaw said.
Shaw said Barton intentionally underbid the job in order to get money from the victim. The bid for the entire project was $90,000. She paid him $30,000 initially.
“Now he’s got her,” Shaw said.
He did some work then asked for $30,000 more for labor and supplies. He does more work and then asked for $20,000. She was reluctant to give him the full amount because the job was not even half done and instead gave him $10,000, Shaw said.
Barton bid the job at a low price to lure her in and knew that if there was a problem, he could declare bankruptcy, Shaw said.
He reminded the jury that the work Barton did complete was not up to code and she had to pay someone else over $14,000 to fix it.
Shaw dismissed the testimony of Chris Hockenberry, the contractor who was the only defense witness. Hockenberry was “a friend” of the defendant and was only making estimates of costs based on Barton’s drawings of the project, Shaw said. Hockenberry said the cost of the work done would have been $83,000.
The most telling of Barton’s intentions was former Decatur Township Police Sgt. James Ward’s testimony that Barton told him he was waiting for the victims to sue him so he could then file bankruptcy, Shaw said.
“He then walks away with that money in his pocket,” Shaw stated.
