Spokane7
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November 27, 2011 in City
Officials call repair bids a scam
Felon faces 12 new charges for work not done
Faith Gallinger stands in the kitchen of her North Side bungalow. The contractor has yet to do the $2,500 worth of work she paid for.
(Full-size photo)
Faith Gallinger had long wanted custom cabinets for her early 20th-century home in northeast Spokane. Ronald Glen Stratton seemed perfect for the task – he boasted of being able to do the work for only labor costs because he already had the supplies. But she had to act fast – someone else was looking at the same wood and supplies were limited.
More than a year and $2,500 later, the old, mismatched cabinets still in her kitchen serve as a reminder of what Gallinger, a 33-year-old pediatric nurse, says was a good but expensive lesson in the risky business of private contracting.
“I wouldn’t just assume that he was trying to scam me,” Gallinger said. “I guess I’m just kind of naive and very trusting. Well, maybe not anymore.”
Worse than a business deal gone bad, detectives and prosecutors allege it was a deliberate crime with at least 12 victims that Stratton has been committing for more than a decade.
Stratton, 59, was released on parole after serving three years of a 14-year prison sentence for eight counts of grand theft in Kootenai County in 1995 stemming from a similar scheme carried out there.
The 12 first-degree theft charges to which he’s pleaded not guilty allege he stole about $23,150 after promising carpentry work that was never completed.
Stratton isn’t licensed, and he’s also on probation for a grand theft conviction in Montana from 1996.
“Everybody that this happened to really feels stupid,” Gallinger said.
Though Stratton’s alleged victims don’t expect to ever be repaid, they’re hoping their stories can be a lesson for others.
Stratton, who was released from jail on his own recognizance after his arrest in October, said in a brief phone conversation last week that medical issues prevented him from completing the work. He said he worked “day and night” trying to catch up but suffered a stroke and had leg surgery. He added that the projects and supplies he stored in a shop have since been stolen.
“I’ve got the medical records to prove it, and I will fight it in court,” he said. “I’ve got this beat hands down. It was legit except for the license. I got fined for that, and that’s all there is to it.”
Spokane County Deputy Prosecutor Bob Sargent said he’s considering Stratton’s criminal history when pursuing the case, which he expects will go to a jury. Trial is tentatively scheduled to begin Jan. 3.
Gallinger’s mother, Trudy Gallinger, introduced Faith and another daughter to Stratton after spotting his ad in the Nickel Nik classifieds. Trudy’s kitchen still has empty spaces where cabinets were to be installed.
“I learned a lot,” Trudy Gallinger said. “I’d never really dealt with a contractor before in that way. It just never occurred to me that someone wouldn’t be (who they say they are). I think if I had ever had a heads-up, I would have thought of it.”
The Washington Department of Labor and Industries recommends consumers always make sure contractors are licensed in order to protect themselves from theft and fraud.
The Idaho attorney general’s office won a civil award of $189,930 against Stratton in January 1995, but conceded that he owned virtually nothing and repayment was unlikely, according to previously published reports.
The schemes for which Stratton was convicted in Kootenai County stemmed from Stratton accepting thousands of dollars for construction work that he failed to complete. His public defender at the time said that Stratton pleaded guilty because he had a “moral and civil responsibility” to the victims but “circumstances got away from him” and “he lost control,” according to a 1995 Spokesman-Review article.
Robert Egland, 75, said he lost about $2,500 to Stratton for fence and kitchen work that was never finished.
“Every time he came to do something else he would change the whole story,” Egland said. “We were naive like everybody else. I fell for it hook, line and sinker.”
Stratton said he needed surgery, so Egland gave him $1,000.
“He signed something saying he’d pay it back in 30 days, and that was over a year ago and I haven’t seen a thing,” Egland said.
Trudy Gallinger repaid her daughters the money they gave Stratton because she said she felt horrible for introducing them to him.
Faith Gallinger said she gave Stratton a down payment in September 2010, then money on two more occasions. He returned to her home to make a layout of her kitchen and take measurements. He said he found a trim he thought would be perfect for her home, but he needed more cash. The work was never completed.
“To say it now I feel so dumb,” Gallinger said.
“Maybe that’s the worst part,” she continued. “I don’t feel like I can trust people now.”
Stratton said he’s confident he’ll prevail at trial.
“It’ll all come out in the wash,” he said.
Human trafficking suspects released 
Jethro_toll on November 27 at 6:23 a.m.
Released on 3 years of a 14 year sentence back in 95? What were they thinking?
This scammer needs to be totally investigated and incarcerated till he pays back every penny. Another reason why our system is broken.
RedCedar on November 27 at 7:58 a.m.
Ummm… How is he going to “pay back every penny” while he’s in prison? Unless he happens to have a big savings stash somewhere that nobody discovered while he was under investigation, he has no money. Ergo… no payback. That’s why we no longer have debtor’s prison like the did back in Dickens’ day.
I agree that he needs to pay back what he owes. What he needs is a stiff prison sentence suspended on the condition that he meets the terms of his well-supervised parole, such terms to include paying back the people he scammed. If I was one of his victims, I would much rather get some of my money back than get the “satisfaction” of knowing he’s rotting in prison.
schleufer on November 27 at 8:26 a.m.
another thing to watch for is calling to get a plugged sewer line cleared. i live in an old house with old house problems and when this happend several times a few years ago i noticed a routine.
first thing they want you to do is flush the toilet knowing its plugged and there it goes all over the floor.then they bring the snake in and run that out, how far im not sure but then the guy just stands there leaning up against something until it gets into the second hour of work then explains we need to jet this and to keep that from flooding the basement we need one of those big tanker trucks. now we are talking alot of money.
my second go around with this i had to wait a couple days to get them all here and talked with a friend at work about it and he said try one of those bladder things you put on the end of a garden hose they work pretty good.
so i stopped at a hardware store and bought one. it took maybe 5 minutes to screw the bladder onto the end of the hose - pull the cap off the sewer line - shove the hose down and turn it on and in just a couple seconds its open and running freely. it cost about 15 bucks. i called the company and told them they could cancell all 3 workers and their 3 trucks.
i can only think of one reason these people would want you to flush the toilet instead of just turning on a fawcett to see if its still plugged. my guess is by flushing the toilet you get alot of water all at once and the only place it can go is all over the floor. that way the homeowner will just say do what ever it takes. here is a blank check.
mrd on November 27 at 9:25 a.m.
Good lessons to be learned by everyone reading these stories, scammers abound. Now I would love to read some stories of welfare cheats and bring to light the many that scam for help and get free services and have a pretty decent income. They are no better than this guy.
Loudin on November 27 at 11:32 a.m.
Okay, this is simple:
If a contractor or tradesman isn’t “licensed” and “bonded,” you don’t give them your business.
It’s just that simple.
Unfortunately, greed gets in the way of some people’s thinking and they roll the dice, hoping for the best. Absolutely no one of character does finish cabinet work for labor cost only; that, along w/the lack of license number and bond info, should have been three giant red flags. Now sure, the guy in question here is a total crook, but the lady in the article should have used better sense when parting w/$2,500.
License + Bond = Recourse for You.
Loudin
Ed Byrnes on November 27 at 1:31 p.m.
Loudin is correct about being licensed and bonded, and the Better Business Bureau is worth a look as well.
I know times are hard but if you want to significantly reduce the risks to you don’t give unlicensed and unbonded alleged contractors the time of day.
Ed
polistra on November 27 at 1:43 p.m.
BBB is the key.
Their website is easy to use, and they keep close track of complaints. They won’t let a business get away with an unresolved complaint.
MrBloggy on November 27 at 4:11 p.m.
Dear DrBloggy
I have been very lonely since my divorce and thought I’d post a craigslist ad, so I put one up about wanting a “rough blue collar man to unplug my pipes” well, here’s the thing - this very handsome man dressed in workman clothing showed up at my house in the afternoon, and there I was in my shorts and tube top and my new crucifix tattoo is all healed and everything, so here’s what happened: HE WENT UNDER MY SINK! omg, I’m like “WUT?” and he’s telling me about my something or other trap which was confusing since he was under the sink and not my … well … he tried to charge me for fixing my sink! omg, what did I do wrong?
Hot and Bothered in Hillyard
Dear Hot Bother:
Nothing, really. Obvious a terrible scam. I hope you didn’t pay him anything. Send me your pic and ad so I can privately review it for improvements. Oh by the way, DrBloggy once worked on a roofing crew. He knows how to nail things. Oh yeah.
DrBloggy
PassinThru on November 27 at 5:19 p.m.
Any chance you could put a picture of the bad guy on here? His past convictions and legal issues mean his photo is on file someplace, right? He could easily use a phony name, since nobody except past victims know what he looks like. Why not put HIM on the defensive for once, where he has to scurry about making others stop publishing his picture? Get it onto Facebook, where everybody will eventually see it. That’d work much better than the one or two overloaded probation officers trying to keep track of him now.
mdoodle on November 27 at 7:35 p.m.
If more people were proactive about these types of things, this wouldn’t be such an issue. Ignorance isn’t an excuse, the victims here unfortunately are as responsible as the perp. Nobody deserves to have this happen to them, but we all have the resources at our disposal to check on things like licensing, bonding, and BBB status.
Another thing to point out is that if the guy had actually purchased materials for these jobs, and didn’t pay his supplier, the HOMEOWNER, not the contractor, is who will pay the supplier, because ultimately if the bill goes unpaid, the supplier can put lien on the house… EVEN IF THE HOMEOWNER ALREADY PAID THE CONTRACTOR FOR THE MATERIALS! There was another guy in the last few years who was playing the same game, only with steel buildings, and those people were out a lot more money.
It is in your best interest to spend a little time checking someone out before you hand them any money for a job. Wouldn’t you want to check the guy out first anyway, if for no other reason than making sure he’s legit before having him work in your HOME??
kennyhuston on November 29 at 3:39 p.m.
Max Fricke was the guy in the Spokane area screwing people out of their hard earned $$$ with his “Pole building scam”. How bout we make a contractor “Hall of Shame” complete with photos of the scam artist and victims’ stories’ too?
NCPHIF on November 30 at 2:00 p.m.
I’m always hurt when I hear that someone has been victimized by contractor fraud. The National Center for the Prevention of Home Improvement Fraud is a 501c3 nonprofit and our mission is to educate homeowners on how to protect themselves from becoming victims of contractor fraud. Before you begin a home repair project, please go to preventcontractorfraud.org for free and very valuable information. And if you have any questions, feel free to contact our call center toll-free at 855-2-NOFRAUD.
Phae Howard
Executive Director
NCPHIF