[StBernard] 9 contractors hit with theft charges

Westley Annis westley at da-parish.com
Thu Jun 28 19:42:56 EDT 2007


9 contractors hit with theft charges
Fraud arrests involve homes in 3 parishes Thursday, June 28, 2007By Allen
Powell II
Nine contractors accused of bilking residents in Orleans, Jefferson and St.
Bernard parishes after Hurricane Katrina were arrested recently on charges
of theft, the state attorney general's office announced this week.

The contractors, including some local ones and some from out of state, were
booked with felony theft by fraud and misappropriation of funds, charges
that carry a maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment and a $3,000 fine.
They were arrested in May or June, and none of them has been formally
indicted, the attorney general's office said.

Arrested were: Christopher Neal Joseph, 40, of Texas; Kevin J. Newton, 38,
2313 Hampton Drive, Harvey; Wendell B. Jones, 48, 5424 Lafaye Ave., New
Orleans; Russel J. Bass , 45, 111 Hahn St., Hahnville; Kory Nikolas Otteson,
28, of Texas; Ronnie James Caronia, 37, 200 S. Causeway Blvd., Jefferson;
Bryan Derrick Roberson, 35, of Georgia; Joseph Kerr, 37, 4521 St. Peter St.,
New Orleans; and Truman Dale Braswell, 38, of Illinois.


In most instances, the contractors accepted money to perform a repair or
renovation and then disappeared with the victims' money. Several of the
crimes involved senior citizens.

Joseph is accused of failing to pay a subcontractor $13,130 for work done on
a New Orleans woman's home, causing a lien to be placed on it by the
subcontractor. Joseph also reconnected an old air conditioner instead of
installing the new one he promised, the press release said. He was arrested
May 9.

Newton was paid $12,000 by an elderly New Orleans woman to repair her house,
but allegedly performed only $4,000 worth of work before disappearing. He
also lied to the victim about being licensed by the state, the report said.
It was not known when he was arrested.

Jones is accused of accepting $6,250 as a down payment on a $33,736
renovation contract for a New Orleans senior citizen and then abandoning the
home without doing any work. He was arrested May 16.

Bass is accused of accepting a $1,500 deposit to work on a New Orleans home
but then absconding without doing any work. He was captured in St. Charles
Parish on May 30.

Otteson is accused of accepting $9,300 as a down payment on a $31,100 job at
a Jefferson Parish home. However, the press release states that Otteson only
performed $2,746 worth of work and never returned to complete the job. In
addition, his firm, Otteson and Otteson Construction, was not registered
with the state. He was arrested June 4.

Caronia was arrested June 19 and accused of promising to perform plumbing,
air-conditioning and electrical work for the Jefferson Lion's Club, and then
fleeing with $7,060 after failing to do any work.

Roberson also was arrested June 19 and is accused of bilking two New Orleans
residents. He apparently agreed to repair their homes, accepted large down
payments and then returned to his Georgia home, where he was captured. He
still is awaiting extradition to New Orleans.

Kerr was booked with three counts of felony theft and is accused of stealing
a total of $25,054. Authorities say he signed contracts with residents in
St. Bernard and Jefferson parishes to repair their homes, accepted down
payments but then never returned to the homes. He was arrested May 16.

Braswell was arrested June 10 in Illinois and was extradited to Louisiana
June 21. He is accused of agreeing to buy and install windows in a St.
Bernard home for $4,722. After receiving a down payment of $3,222 on Aug.
16, Braswell contacted the victim again and did not return any money.

Residents who believe they are the victims of contractor fraud can contact
the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Hotline at (800) 351-4889.

. . . . . . .

Allen Powell II can be reached at apowell at timespicayune.com or (504)
826-3793



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