The case of a contractor accused of bilking Holmes Beach out of more than $90,000 by failing to install new curbs as contracted is set to go before a jury in January.
Chris Richard Arnold of Bradenton was arrested in September 2013 on a felony charge of scheming to defraud the city in connection with a 2012 public works contract.
The city paid Arnold’s company, Services by Chris Arnold LLC, more than $215,000 for work performed on 12 streets, mostly in the Key Royale area.
According to the June 2012 contract, the company was to remove and dispose of old curbing, replace it with new curbs and return any damaged property to its original condition.
The city agreed to pay $24.50 per linear foot not to exceed 8,000 linear feet.
Although the bill to the city was for 8,798 feet, the company installed only 5,009 feet of new curbing. The city allegedly paid $92,830.50 for work not performed, according to the probable cause affidavit of Holmes Beach Police Department Detective Sgt. Brian Hall.
Hall and public works foreman Gary Blunden measured and took photographs of the new curbs in April 2013 after the HBPD was tipped off that Arnold’s company did only some of the work.
A former crew member told police Arnold had ordered his crew to cover up — with gray paint — orange marks on the curbs used to identify the ones to be replaced, according to Hall’s affidavit.
Former public works superintendent and building official Joe Duennes, tasked with overseeing the project, told Hall he didn’t do the inspections, but did sign off on Arnold’s work.
A court filing in October by Arnold’s attorney, Jason Reid, criticized the city contract for failing to identify the specific guttering to be replaced.
R. Charles Scott, president of Construction Consulting Services of Sarasota, in a letter dated Oct. 8, called it a “gentleman’s agreement as to what was to happen upon commencement of the work.”
Scott called the work “random maintenance.”
The letter also identified $32,350-$43,190 owed to Arnold’s company for work performed.
On Dec. 23, assistant State Attorney Lisa Chitarro named Susan Keeton, a CPA of Sarasota, as an expert witness.
Both Chittaro and Reid have identified persons they may call to testify at trial.
In a Jan. 8 court filing, Chittaro disclosed former Holmes Beach Mayor Carmel Monti and city clerk Stacey Johnston as possible witnesses.
Reid subpoenaed former Holmes Beach Mayor Rich Bohnenberger, former public works superintendent Joe Duennes, former building inspector Bob Shaffer, his current business partner at MyRepairService, Dennis Waltz, and Chris Clark of Shepherd, Michigan.
In late 2014, HBPD Chief William Tokajer said additional charges were being considered against Arnold relating to other city work he performed.
According to Hall and Blunden, the city has not investigated any such work. Hall said Jan. 7 the city had been too busy, and now plans to wait until the current case is over before deciding to go forward with an additional investigation.
Other city contracts awarded to Arnold and related companies include an $18,875 clearing project at the Grassy Point Preserve in 2012, and a $294,036 public works building remodeling project completed in 2012, for which Arnold served as a project manager the contracting company, Tri Tech Construction.
The jury trial is expected to begin at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 20, before12th Judicial Circuit Judge Deno G. Economou at the Manatee County Judicial Center, 1051 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton, according to Chittaro’s office.