Records tell tale of looted till

Steven Bartlett took at least $1.3-million, investigators say.

By John Frank, Times Staff Writer
Published February 17, 2008

ADVERTISEMENT [Maurice Rivenbark | Times] More than 100 would-be homeowners have accused builder Steven Bartlett of stealing their money.

The man at the center of one of the largest alleged home-building scams in state history remains largely an enigma.

In the courtroom, Steven Bartlett, 40, is reserved, and studious even. The president of Coral Bay Construction wears a pressed white dress shirt and suit slacks to cover his big tattooed frame. He puts on and takes off his gold-rimmed glasses and dutifully takes notes as his former customers testify before a jury about empty promises.

Bartlett appears to be a well-groomed businessman, not the gallivanting, flush playboy with an affection for custom motorcycles, craps tables and luxury trips.

This tawdry persona emerged anecdotally in May 2006, shortly after Coral Bay went bankrupt and authorities launched an investigation into whether Bartlett stole money from would-be homeowners in Hernando and Pasco counties. Now, years later, with Bartlett charged with grand theft, new documents are revealing a clearer picture of his flamboyant lifestyle - one more extravagant than most could have imagined.

The records resolve, at least in approximation, the questions about exactly how much money Bartlett took from customers. A preliminary summary prepared by investigators identifies at least $1.3-million in suspicious financial transactions made from Coral Bay accounts for seemingly nonbusiness expenses, according to documents obtained by the St. Petersburg Times.

The true amount allegedly siphoned from Coral Bay is likely much larger. The 105 victims who are scheduled to take the stand during the monthlong trial gave Bartlett more than $5-million combined and received homes in various stages of incompletion.

The company's accounts were "just a Steve Bartlett private kitty," said prosecutor Philip Hanson. "Commingling of funds was readily apparent."

The tough part is getting the evidence in front of the jury. Sheriff's Office Detective Harold Varvel plans to take the stand this week and describe Bartlett's personal purchases from corporate accounts. But the nine-member panel probably will not hear about the most egregious excesses because the purchases represent character evidence that could taint the jury and open the case to an appeal, Hanson said.

Bartlett, in previous conversations with the Times, said tales of his indulgences were exaggerated. He also asserted that he enjoyed pricey trips and vehicles only in the past few years, when business boomed during the housing industry surge.

His attorney, Donald Harrison, said in an interview that the money was legitimate income from company profits.

"Are employees of Coral Bay entitled to salary and compensation?" he asked.

Harrison, of Tampa, told jurors last week that those expenses stopped in August 2005, when Bartlett realized his company was "bleeding."

"He's a builder, not an accountant," Harrison explained.

But following Coral Bay's money trail through corporate credit card and checking account records, and talking to Bartlett's former friends, unmasks the personal story of a once well-regarded builder who struck it rich during the housing boom and lost sight of his limits.

The most alarming discovery was nearly $200,000 in missing money. It came from would-be homeowners who paid Bartlett in cash to avoid a costly mortgage, yet the funds never made it into Coral Bay accounts, investigators found.

Bartlett, or his father, Walter "Larry" Bartlett, pulled another $400,000 in cash from a business checking account. It is nearly impossible to determine how this money was spent. But account records show that large single counter checks were cashed for $85,000, $54,000, $35,000 and $40,000 - all in a three-week period in late January and early February 2006.

Authorities also couldn't trace about $160,000 more in undesignated funds cashed by Steven Bartlett.

The expenses investigators could track came from corporate American Express credit cards and business checks written for items that appear unrelated to home construction. All told, these easily exceed half a million dollars.

Travel accounted for much of the charges on the business credit card - frequent trips to Disney World, Daytona Beach, the Caribbean and Las Vegas. Not to mention these pricey excursions: a single $7,500 expense during a gambling trip to Biloxi, Miss., and more than $20,000 in charges while on an Alaskan cruise.

"It was tough to keep up with Bartlett and his wife," said Robert Zablocki, a close friend to Bartlett.

Zablocki first met Bartlett in a driver's education class. Both were trying to clean up their driving records. Zablocki, an electrical contractor, said he wired the electricity for Coral Bay's first model home off Mariner Boulevard. Soon after they became friends, they began riding Harleys and went everywhere together, including vacations.

In Las Vegas, Bartlett and his wife, Tracy, spared no expense. "He was the man with the money," Zablocki said.

Casino managers treated them like "whales," or high-rollers who get free hotel rooms and limousine rides because they spend so much money gambling. Their favorite game: craps. They liked rolling the hard doubles, two fours, with 35 to 1 odds. "We'd put down $1,000 and make $35,000," Zablocki said. "It didn't happen often but when it did, we got paid big.

"The problem was," he continued, "when we were up, it didn't stop."

Zablocki's company did work for Coral Bay, but rarely received compensation in the past few years. Zablocki considered Bartlett a friend, so he figured he could get the money. He never did, though.

Bartlett's initial bankruptcy filing shows he owed Zablocki more than $120,000 for electrical work. The two also were co-owners of Down Under Scuba before it went under. Bartlett charged about $50,000 in expenses for that business to his Coral Bay bank accounts.

"There's no reason for him to go bankrupt," Zablocki said. "He just got greedy."

This lifestyle wasn't just a Vegas thing. It carried home to Hernando County.

Bartlett's family enjoyed the prestige of living in the exclusive Woodland Waters neighborhood. He used business accounts to pay $40,000 to Hi Tech Home Systems for a security and stereo system at his home. He also installed a large, customized reef tank. Yellow and blue tang tropical fish swam through the saltwater with a 4-foot snowflake eel. Pet Paradise, a now-defunct pet store in Spring Hill, appears on Coral Bay accounts for $4,000.

Other family-related charges on business accounts included $3,750 in tuition for his son, Christopher, to attend Notre Dame Catholic School in Spring Hill and tens of thousands in jewelry expenses.

In all, investigators list miscellaneous charges on business accounts at $39,000, but it doesn't include every personal expense.

Still, none of these categories can match the costs to Coral Bay for Bartlett's purchases of motorcycles and other vehicles. They totaled more than $280,000, or about the cost of two small homes.

Trik Daddy's of Brooksville, and its owner, John Neger, frequently took Bartlett's business checks to the tune of $154,000. That money paid for various customizations of Bartlett's choppers, including a copper-colored Boss Hoss trike, or three-wheeled motorcycle, with a television that opened out of the small trunk.

Bartlett's cars were equally tricked out. His silver Dodge Ram 350 extended cab had a fin, expensive stereo system and automatic bed cover.

For an unknown cost, he had a decal painted on side of the truck. In hindsight - after considering all the seemingly personal expenses on the dime of Coral Bay customers and his subsequent bankruptcy filing - it provokes an irony seared in the minds of Bartlett's victims.

It reads, "Pay Up Sucker."

John Frank can be reached at jfrank@sptimes.com or (352) 754-6114.

$200,000 Amount from would-be homeowners missing from Coral Bay accounts

$280,000 Amount of business checks spent on Steven Bartlett's motorcycles and vehicles

$40,000 Amount from business accounts spent to install a security and stereo system at Bartlett's home

$7,500 Amount charged to a business credit card for a single gambling trip to Biloxi, Miss.

[Last modified February 16, 2008, 20:30:20]