[StBernard] Suspect in St. Bernard contractor fraud case caught in Texas

[Westley Annis]

Suspect in St. Bernard contractor fraud case caught in Texas
By The Times-Picayune 
March 31, 2010, 5:55PM
A 58-year-old man wanted in St. Bernard Parish in a $40,000 contractor fraud
case after Hurricane Katrina has been extradited from Texas to face
prosecution for felony theft, Chief Deputy James Pohlmann said.

John Bustoz is accused of stealing about $40,000 from a man who paid him in
2007 to renovate an Arabi residence. Bustoz, who had been running a
contracting business based in Gretna after the storm, collected the money
and did little or no work on the project before disappearing, Pohlmann said.

A local judge signed a warrant for Bustoz's arrest in January of 2008. St.
Bernard authorities were alerted after he was arrested recently in the
Lubbock, Texas, area on an unrelated charge.
St. Bernard detectives drove to West Texas and returned with Bustoz early
Wednesday, booking him with theft over $500. He is being held in the parish
prison on $40,000 bond, authorities said.