Credit: Bucks County Detectives
A Bristol Township man accused operating a contracting business with his son and bilking customers pleaded no contest before a judge on Monday.
John J. Thayer Jr., 61, entered the plea before a Bucks County judge on charges including deceitful business practices and false statement to induce agreement for home improvement services. The 61 year old will be sentenced after his son, Ryan Thayer, 28, has his trial in early April.
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The two ran Levittown-based Hammertime Construction and Demolition before their summer 2014 arrest. The father and son team are accused of scamming roughly $700,000 from customers, mostly in Lower Bucks County.
“He had minimal involvement with the business of his son,” said attorney Niels Eriksen Jr., who represented the eldest Thayer on Monday. “His actions were not intentional or motivated by profit, but he was present for certain transactions, and accepts the Commonwealth’s ability to present the case at trial.”
According to an affidavit of probable cause filed by the Bucks County Detectives on Monday, the Thayers took on jobs and didn’t complete them. Some of the victims hired Hammertime Construction and Demolition to work on their properties following fires.
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Several alleged victims testified against the two at a preliminary hearing last year. Many testified they signed “loose” contracts with the men. Victims spoke of the thousands, in some cases, over $100,000 they had to pay to finish the work they say Hammertime Construction did not.
According to testimony from staff of the Bristol Township License and Inspections Department, the Thayers did not have proper permits for the projects they started in the township.
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Investigators sought documents from several municipalities during the course of their months-long investigation into the Thayers.
Michael Parlow, the attorney for Ryan Thayer during the preliminary hearing, said in 2014 that the whole case is a civil matter and not a criminal one.
Ryan Thayer was formerly a member of the Bristol Township Zoning Board.
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The Thayers are both out on unsecured bail.
Related:
- Victims Testify Against Contractors Accused of Bilking Them
- Contractors Bilked Customers of $675,175, County Detectives Say
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