 |
|
|
|
|
Court orders dirty window dealer to pay back money to his victims
People swindled by Langone may have a long wait for restitution
By Kara Chalmers
Five South Bay residents who were swindled out of thousands of dollars by a Willow Glen businessman several years ago have finally had their day in court--even if they still haven't gotten their money back.
Besides not completing work that was paid for, Anthony Langone, former owner of Trans-West Home Improvement, a window and door replacement company on Lincoln Avenue, posed as a licensed contractor.
Last April, he pleaded guilty to two counts of grand theft and to contracting without a license. On June 8 he was sentenced to serve five months in jail and spend three years on probation. He also must pay back over $40,000 to his victims.
Although Langone worked closely with a licensed contractor who installed the windows and doors, his own contracting license had expired in December 1996. His license had in previous years been revoked, reinstated and then canceled.
Peter Davidson, another local business owner and partner of Langone, pleaded guilty to contracting without a license. The two would have been tried together for different charges, had they not pleaded guilty.
Langone is scheduled to report to county jail on July 19 to serve his five-month sentence. Davidson served two days in jail, has fines to pay and will be on probation for three years, according to Mark Hood, deputy district attorney for Santa Clara County.
"Based on the overall facts of this case, I am pleased with the sentence," Hood said.
Although Langone's probation officer would not disclose the exact amount of restitution in the court order, Hood believes the amount is in the neighborhood of $44,000. He says Langone has deposited a cashier's check for $40,000 into a fund to pay the victims for their losses. Both defendants are on a payment plan for the balance of the money.
Although the county has received its money, at press time none of the victims has seen a penny of it. All have been told that payment could take four to six weeks. The Santa Clara County Department of Revenue is the agency responsible for collecting and redistributing the money.
Langone's probation officer is skeptical. "The victims are victims again, since they now have to wait ... to be reimbursed, or they may never be reimbursed," she said.
Jackie Simon, of the Victim's Witness Assistant Center in Santa Clara County, has spoken with all five victims in this case. According to her, no victim can have it all.
"You can't send someone away for a long time and get paid," she said. "It's never fair for the victim. It's not fair in this case, and it's not fair in a lot of cases. But the justice system does the best it can with the resources it has.
"While the victims are probably pleased with getting their money back, I'm positive none of them are totally happy."
Although one of the victims, who asked that his name not be used, hasn't been reimbursed yet, he's gained some hard-won wisdom from his experience: "People need to check out their contractors for sure before they do business with them--unlike me," he said ruefully.
|
|
|
|
Willow Glen, California Since 1992
