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Builder Found Guilty Of Grand Theft; May Get 30 Years

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By KYLE MARTIN Hernando Today

Published: February 28, 2008

Updated: 02/27/2008 09:33 pm

BROOKSVILLE - Steven Bartlett crossed the fine line between sloppy bookkeeping and stealing from customers.

  Steven Bartlett

That was the decision of six jurors, who found the owner of now bankrupt Coral Bay Construction guilty of grand theft of more than $100,000. Prosecutors say the actual total is closer to $1.6 million.

The verdict came after three weeks of testimony and four hours of deliberation Wednesday.

"The case turned out awesome," Assistant State Attorney Mark Simpson said.

Most of the 30 to 35 victims in the courtroom took the time to personally thank and hug prosecutor Philip Hanson, who prepared and presented the case.

Bartlett, 41, was remanded into custody and will await a sentencing hearing on April 16. He faces 30 years in prison.

Like most aspects of the trial, Wednesday's verdict came swiftly.

Jury selection was expected to take at least a day, and an extra 50 jurors were subpoenaed in case the pool was exhausted.

The process took a day on Feb. 11, although every one of the first 50 jurors were either dismissed or used to create a panel of six with three alternates.

The prosecution wrapped up its case Tuesday, about a week ahead of schedule. Bartlett's defense took the rest of the day to give its side of the case, which left Wednesday open to closing arguments.

Hundreds Left Hanging

By noon, the jury was holed up to begin poring over the testimony of 100-plus witnesses and thousands of documents.

Hanson took nearly an hour to rehash what he considers proof that Bartlett took his customers' money to buy custom motorcycles and take gambling trips to Las Vegas. There were hundreds of businesses and homeowners in Pasco, Hernando and Citrus counties left hanging when Bartlett filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection

Hanson told the stories of people, including some with disabilities, who lost their life savings to Bartlett.

Hanson briefly grew emotional himself near the end of his argument.

"Next to getting married, having kids and getting a job, building a house is one of the most important things in your life," he said.

The assistant state attorney bolstered his claim that Bartlett's customers were treated shabbily with three examples:

Twice sheriff's deputies had to remove irate customers from Coral Bay's Spring Hill headquarters.

One customer came up with a dance move that supposedly embodied Bartlett's business practices called the "Coral Bay two-step."

Just before sheriff's deputies raided Coral Bay's headquarters, Bartlett and his employees moved out and left a sign in the window: "Moved due to hostile conditions."

Hanson's argument was often punctuated with bits of humor and wry sarcasm that had the 30 to 35 victims in the courtroom chuckling.

They seemed on the verge of applause when Hanson finished.

On the flip side, Bartlett's attorney urged the jury not to get caught up in the tales of victims.

"Your verdict should not be based on feelings, but evidence and the law," Donald Harrison said.

Attorney: There Are Explanations

Just as the prosecutors had their cheering squad, about nine people sitting behind Bartlett nodded along as Harrison spoke.

Seizing on the prosecution's tag line, Harrison said the case was not about excuses, but explanations.

He chastised the investigator for not presenting "the whole truth" in his testimony and the prosecution for not providing all the evidence.

Harrison said the state attorney's office chose to ignore certain pages of evidence that proves Bartlett's financial transactions were legitimate.

The so-called extravagant purchases came mostly from 2004 when many of the complainants had yet to contract with Coral Bay for a home, Harrison said.

He did not question that the company was spiraling into deep debt, but, again, there was an explanation for that. Coral Bay was overextending its capital as contractors attempted to catch up on construction work.

By the end of 2005, the Bartletts had loaned a million dollars of their own money to keep the company afloat.

Lines of credit had been secured and a financial plan was in place to finish the outstanding jobs.

Then the sheriff's office seized boxes of files, essentially stripping away the company's ability to keep track of its work, Harrison contended.

"No sooner does he get the rug under him than it's pulled out," he said.

Reporter Kyle Martin can be reached at (352) 544-5271 or kmartin@hernandotoday.com.

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