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Seawall builder has troubled job record

Main Street Landing's wall builder has convictions in exploitation and scheming to defraud cases. He also lacks a contractor's license.

By BRIDGET HALL GRUMET
Published June 11, 2006

NEW PORT RICHEY - The new sea wall at Main Street Landing, the $45-million crown jewel of the downtown redevelopment effort, was built by an unlicensed contractor who has convictions for exploitation of the elderly, scheming to defraud and falsely holding himself out as a contractor.

Donald M. Hughes, owner of Hughes Marine Construction, has a Pasco County occupational license - a piece of paper that simply proves he paid his business taxes.

But he does not have a state or county license as a general contractor, a building contractor or a residential contractor. Such a license is obtained only after passing a competency exam, and it would be required to do sea wall work, according to the state officials.

Hughes said he has a license but refused to elaborate, saying only, "The permits are pulled; the job is done." He declined to comment further.

Hughes' lack of a contractor's license was news to Main Street Landing developer Ken McGurn. He said Hughes claimed to be licensed, even though the city's database of contractors lists Hughes "for name only - no license."

"We typically wouldn't be running background checks on these guys," McGurn said. "I guess we're fortunate he did a good job for us."

How can McGurn be sure? He said Spring Engineering, the company that designed the project, inspected Hughes' work every step of the way to make sure the $196,000 sea wall was built right.

"We watched him like a hawk," McGurn said.

The sea wall also got passing grades from a city building inspector on several occasions, although it awaits final inspection.

Construction finished in March on the 540-foot sea wall, which runs along the east and south sides of Main Street Landing. A different contractor is building the 55 condominiums and 20,000 square feet of retail and office space overlooking the Pithlachascotee River.

Estimated to cost about $45-million, the Mediterranean-themed complex is the largest project in recent New Port Richey history. It promises to inject new life into downtown - if it overcomes its own financial struggles.

Faced with skyrocketing construction costs, the developers plan to ask the city to refund nearly $6.7-million in future tax revenue from the project to repay its construction debt. City Council members will get their first glimpse at the proposal Tuesday.

The sea wall is a key piece of the project: It will prevent erosion along the bank of the Pithlachascotee River and provide docking space for a dozen or so boats.

McGurn said Hughes got the job because he was "the only guy available." Another contractor expressed interest but then went to the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina, McGurn said.

Hughes provided copies of his occupational license and proof of his insurance and worker's compensation, so McGurn thought everything was in order. He said he knew nothing of Hughes' troubled legal past, which has been reported in the St. Petersburg Times.

Hughes was arrested in February 1999 after two elderly Pasco County residents accused him of defrauding them months earlier.

In the first case, an 84-year-old woman told sheriff's detectives she paid Hughes $11,081 for cabinet work, pressure cleaning and replacement of an interior wall. She also loaned Hughes $21,000, but the Sheriff's Office said Hughes never did the work or repaid the money.

Hughes pleaded guilty to charges of exploitation of the elderly and scheme to defraud. He was sentenced to 10 years' probation and ordered to pay restitution.

In the second case, a 74-year-old man told detectives he paid Hughes $17,380 to build an addition onto his home, but the work was never done. Hughes pleaded no contest to falsely holding himself out as a contractor and was ordered to pay restitution.

He repaid both victims in 2003, a year after another elderly woman, Katie Barr, gave him $159,000 to invest in real estate for her. He bought a $59,000 house for Barr to rent out, and another $60,000 home that he was supposed to give her. But he ended up keeping the second home for himself and taking out a $56,800 mortgage on it, leaving a large chunk of Barr's money unaccounted for.

The deal came to light after Barr, 81, passed away in 2004, and her sister accused Hughes of taking advantage of her. Shirley Harkins said her sister was suffering from the early stages of Alzheimer's.

But the Sheriff's Office could not find a doctor to verify that Barr didn't have her faculties about her, spokesman Kevin Doll said.

Hughes was not charged in that incident. The second home he bought with Barr's money is now listed as the address for Hughes Marine Construction.

Records show the company was created last December, at the same time sea wall construction was beginning at Main Street Landing.

But Hughes has done sea wall work before.

Bruce Deloncker hired Hughes in 1998 to replace the sea wall cap behind his Gulf Harbors home. But he said he fired Hughes after learning he was unlicensed and seeing the work wasn't done right.

Deloncker said Hughes installed the concrete cap and a sidewalk without the necessary rebar and wire mesh.

Lacking the right support, both structures are cracking, Deloncker said.

"I don't even think he knows what he's doing as far as building a sea wall," Deloncker said. "If it's not done right, you're going to get washout from underneath and behind the sea wall, and you'll have problems down the road.

"I probably wouldn't let this guy pour sidewalk now that I know he doesn't have a license for anything," Deloncker said.

"I can't believe after all the publicity he's gotten and all the articles in the paper they would let him do a project like (Main Street Landing)."

But the regulatory maze provides few safeguards against it.

No license is required to pull a sea wall permit from the state Department of Environmental Protection.

Often the permits are pulled by homeowners, and it is their responsibility to hire an appropriate contractor, spokeswoman Pamala Vazquez said.

She noted a different state agency, the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, keeps tabs on licensed and unlicensed contractors.

The county Tax Collector grants some occupational licenses, including the one for marine construction, without checking for any state or county licenses that verify the person's proficiency. The contractor simply fills out a form and pays a fee.

With an occupational license in hand, the contractor can get listed in New Port Richey's contractor's database, which allows him to pull a city permit.

"As far as we're concerned, he doesn't have a license, but he has the right to work through the county with that occupational license," said Barry Bingham, an official in the city's building department.

But the state says otherwise. In a 2003 letter to the Florida Marine Contractors Association, Assistant Attorney General Barbara R. Edwards wrote that a state license as a general contractor, a building contractor or a residential contractor "is required to legally construct, remodel or repair sea walls, docks and related marine facilities."

A county license as a marine contractor would be an acceptable substitute, Edwards wrote. But Pasco County does not offer one.

It is up to the state Department of Business and Professional Regulation and law enforcement officials to go after unlicensed contractors - if someone files a complaint first.

The state agency can fine violators up to $2,500, agency spokeswoman Kristen Ploska said.

McGurn, the developer, said Hughes has been paid for most of his work. Hughes said a final payment of $25,800 is tied up in a dispute over some damage to the sea wall.

Still, McGurn said, "We're very pleased with it."

Bridget Hall Grumet can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6244 or toll-free at 1-800-333-7505 ext. 6244. Her e-mail address is bgrumet@sptimes.com.

[Last modified June 11, 2006, 07:07:43]