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Con man’ takes money and runs:
Home repairman faces sentencing
Published by: The News
Tribune
written by news correspondent: Tami Jayne Jackson
Nyal Bennett is a smooth-talking home-repair contractor who consistently
delivers the following: He demands money upfront, doesn’t do the work,
then moves on to find another victim.
He admits as much in King County court papers.
At least 27 residents of King and Pierce counties have complained he
scammed them. The fact she has so much company is little consolation to
Claudia Brisendine, 55, of Renton, who gave Bennett $815 plus a $1,750
aluminum awning to build her a new porch among other things, court papers
say.
He tore down her old porch and never returned.
“I have nothing left,” Brisendine said recently. “No stairs. Nothing.”
“I’ve had to learn the hard way not to trust everybody. Now if I needed
work done, I’d ask a contractor for his license.”
Bennett, 36, has fast-talked his customers out of their money since at
least late 1992. He has used different names, told how he needs work
because his mom is sick, and has convinced customers to write their checks
to someone else. He isn’t bonded or licensed with the state, as required
by state law, court papers say.
Finally, after being arrested twice, he pleaded guilty to theft and
forgery charges March 10 in King County Superior Court.
Bennett is out of jail on $10,000 bail. He faces a sentence of up to 29
months
at his sentencing hearing May 5.
Yet, since he pleaded guilty, five new complaints have been filed against
Bennett with the state Department of Labor and Industries, said Mathew
Jackson, a construction compliance officer for the agency. A judge last
week issued Bennett a cease-and-desist order.
Jackson said he’s never seen so many complaints against one contractor.
“He’s and extreme case,” Jackson said. “He’s not one of those guys who get
in over their head on a project, maybe finish half, and then leave people
high and dry. He’s a con man.”
Bennett seems to target older people who often have limited income but
considerable pride in their homes, Jackson said.
“He did six jobs in one mobile home park for senior citizens and asked to
be paid in advance, Jackson said. He did not complete the work.
“These people don’t have a chance of getting their money back,” he said.
So why hasn’t Bennett faced jail before now? Because people willingly gave
him their money, Jackson explained.
“If I said I’d put on your roof for $4,000 and you gave me half in
advance, it’s not like I stole it from you,” Jackson said. “We needed to
show he fraudulently stole your money.”
Bennett’s downfall was being so prolific in fleecing folks. He established
a pattern of deception, Jackson said. Plus, Bennett falsely represented
himself as being
licensed and bonded, which is fraudulent.
Not all of Bennett’s victims were uninformed about building practices. One
was Patricia Nesland, a real estate agent from Tukwila.
“He didn’t look particularly unkempt. He had somebody with him sitting in
the truck when he came in to see me. He sounded like he knew what he was
talking about so I didn’t have a reason to suspect that it would be a
problem,” Nesland said.
Nesland learned of Bennett’s company through his ad in the telephone book.
She said there aren’t many contractors around who do mobile home work and
she needed to sell her house. She was in a hurry to get the work done, so
she called Bennett’s firm, Done Right Mobile Home Service, and requested a
bid for cement runners and tie-downs for her mobile home.
Nesland said Bennett introduced himself as Tracy Parkhurst. He told
Nesland he needed work because his mother was in the hospital without
medical insurance, she said.
He submitted a written proposal to Nesland and she wrote him a $1,000
advance check. Bennett cashed the check immediately and Nesland never saw
him again. Like many of Bennett’s victims, Nesland identified him in a
photo montage prepared by King County police.
Nesland complained that since Bennett advertised in the telephone book she
thought he must be reputable.
However, a spokeswoman with US West Direct said the company publishes so
many advertisements in its phone book that it must rely on industrial
associations and
government agencies to let it know of unlicensed contractors.
US West Direct spokeswoman Jeana Capel-Jones said the company has no way
to ensure the accuracy of information advertisers give it.
“As a publisher we have the responsibility to accept only advertising that
meet the requirements of the law,” Capel-Jones said. “We are trying to
ensure that those license numbers are appearing in our ads.”
According to court records, Bennett contracted to do such work as re-level
homes, fix insulation around heat ducts, replace plastic piping under the
trailers and repair or pressure-wash roofs.
Whenever customers telephoned Bennett to complain about his prolonged
absence or about his shoddy work, he either wouldn’t answer his phone or
he would offer an excuse.
Sometimes Bennett said he was too busy to finish a job immediately. More
than once he said his doctor wanted him to stay indoors, or that he had a
broken leg, or that the truck with the building materials got in a wreck.
According to court documents, Bennett has outstanding warrants from
Tukwila Municipal Court. He also has convictions for simple assault,
welfare fraud, food stamp fraud, drunken driving and obstruction.
Connie Hines, 65, of Federal Way said Bennett approached her “like a flea
on a dog’s back.”
“He was in my home going room to room and saying how my home was all off
whack,” she said.
But unlike her peers, Hines refused to pay Bennett a dime. And when he
volunteered to crawl under her house for 15 minutes and then returned to
bill her for $450; she said: “Hey, I’m 65 years old. I know better.”
~ end ~
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