Building a Case

Did prosecutors use -- or abuse -- a little-known remodeling law?

A A A Comments By George Flynn Thursday, Aug 15 2002

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Meanwhile, Calcerone says the dispute and criminal action caused him to miss other work, leaving him three months behind on his own house note.

Attorney Waddell says prosecutions under this law are rare, that the statute usually only surfaces as an aside in civil matters, by civil attorneys who try to show it is merely one more mistake by a contractor. "The statute isn't very effective if you really can't get the guys who are really the problem and really the reason why the statute was promulgated," he says.

Phillippe Diederich

The BBB's Parsons praises fraud prosecutors for their post-Allison work.

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Turbeville says he's been virtually the lone advocate for stronger laws to fight remodeling abuses, and that industry lobby groups have blunted most of his crusades.

"I'm having people destroyed all the time by contractors who are 'walking' the job," he says. "We prosecute them when we can….You've got a bunch of people whose houses are destroyed, whose life savings are gone. And it is a sad situation when the law doesn't deal with it. I can only enforce the laws that exist."

As the trial date set for later this month approached, on Friday Turbeville dismissed the case, saying it had nothing to do with inquiries made by the Houston Press. But the Calcerone-Janzen dispute will go on -- as a fight over the lien.

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