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Judge Orders Tampa Councilman To Pay Past-Due Bills

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By CHRISTIAN M. WADE

cwade@tampatrib.com

Published: January 8, 2009

Joseph Caetano

TAMPA - For months, health care workers from Comfort Keepers took care of Tampa City Councilman Joseph Caetano's wife, Nair, who has been bedridden for several years.

But when time came to pay the bill for services provided from April to August 2007, Caetano refused, according to a complaint filed in Hillsborough County Court.

So the company owners filed a lawsuit against him for $4,678.35, including interest and penalties. On Wednesday, County Judge Eric R. Myers ordered Caetano to pay up.

Outside the courtroom, Caetano declined to comment.

"It's a personal matter," he said Wednesday. "I would prefer not to discuss it."

Bob DiRaimo, co-owner of the Tampa Bay area franchise of Comfort Keepers, said he tried unsuccessfully for nearly a year to collect the money Caetano owed his business.

Caetano eventually sent the company three checks totaling $1,300, but DiRaimo said attempts to recover the remaining balance in dozens of letters went unanswered.

At the time, Caetano's reported net worth was about $1.6 million, including his hair salon business, rental properties and his $40,000 annual salary as a council member.

"He just kept telling us the check was in the mail," DiRaimo said.

After the lawsuit was filed in July 2008, Caetano postponed a hearing and didn't show for another in October, when Judge Myers ruled in favor of Comfort Keepers.

He later told the judge he had a "traffic issue" that morning and requested that the judgment against him be suspended until another court hearing was scheduled.

On Wednesday, Caetano argued that the company neglected his wife and employed caretakers that were not registered with the state, allegations that DiRaimo denied.

Judge Myers told Caetano he was missing the point.

"The issue here is payment of the bill for services rendered," he said. "If you were not satisfied with the services the company provided, you didn't have to hire them."

The judge's ruling adds to the financial woes for the first-term councilman.

In November, he filed bankruptcy for his Tampa Palms Bostonian Hair Studio & Day Spa, and documents filed in a federal court in Tampa show that his business has outstanding liabilities between $100,000 and $500,000 with reported assets of less than $50,000.

Several creditors are seeking about $180,000 from Caetano's business, including more than $53,000 in rent to the owner of the shopping plaza where his salon is located.

In the past year, he has sold his salon on Bruce B. Downs Boulevard and a coffee shop, Java Joe's, in City Plaza.

Caetano, 75, was in elected 2007 to represent New Tampa.

Reporter Christian M. Wade can be reached at (813) 259-7679

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