Dug hole, but no pool leads to company’s owner arrest

WESTPORT - The owner of a pool company has been arrested on charges in connection with a pool that was never installed.

Richard Sutcliffe, 49, of Shelton, was charged with second-degree larceny and failure to furnish a contract with a cancellation statement and failure to provide a written three-day notice of cancellation.

According to Lt. Jullian Cabana, on Jan. 7, 2019, the victim went to police headquarters to report a larceny.

“The victim reported he provided a $25,000 deposit to Champion Pool Service on March 8, 2018 for the installation of a pool,” Cabana said in a release.

“The victim had a verbal agreement with the owner of Champion Pool, Richard Sutcliffe, to draft a contract and full quote once the victim obtained the required permits from the Town of Westport. The victim’s check was cashed and he received a receipt for his deposit on July, 22, 2018.

“The company later took down several sections of the victim’s fence and dug a hole in the backyard. The victim stated no further work was completed and he was unable to make contact with Sutcliffe since Nov. 27, 2018.

“The investigating officer later met with Sutcliffe, who agreed to provide the victim an invoice and return the balance of his deposit, minus the billable hours already spent on the project.

“As of May 2019, Sutcliffe had not provided an invoice or returned any of the victim’s deposit despite multiple phone calls and assurances by Sutcliffe that he would do so.

“During the investigation, the officer learned Sutcliffe also never provided the required written contract to the victim, nor had he provided the three-day notice of cancellation as required by law. The investigating officer submitted an arrest...

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Dug-hole-but-no-pool-leads-to-company-s-owner-14058964.php