State
of Florida
Office of the State Attorney
16th Judicial Circuit
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Office of the State Attorney 16th Judicial Circuit
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Criminal Justice System Overview Employment Opportunities |
August 25, 2005 A Big Pine Key man jailed last year on charges of grand theft, criminal mischief and possession of burglary tools apparently had ambitions beyond simply stealing a boat. Earlier this month, Wayne L. Ball, 50, was charged with three counts of felony theft for scamming clients of his cabinetry business. Ball is now in jail, but not in Monroe County and not for felony theft. He was arrested on August 13 in Forsyth County, Georgia, about 30 miles north of Atlanta, on charges of drunk driving. Ball is currently fighting State Attorney Mark Kohl’s attempts to extradite him to face charges in the Florida Keys. On October 28, 2004, Monroe County Sheriff Greg Korzen surprised Ball allegedly trying to steal a 21-foot Sea Pro docked at a Cudjoe Key residence. Ball was taken to the Monroe County Detention Center and he bonded out the following day. But Ball had been busy that year operating a cabinetry business in Big Pine Key called “CabinetWorks” – a business it now appears worked a scam more than it worked cabinets. Ball is charged with felony theft for contracting with three clients to build cabinets and counters in homes from Big Pine Key to Key West and bilking those clients of more than $7,300. According to investigators with the State Attorney’s office, Ball asked for substantial advance deposits on contracted work. But in each instance, Ball did not show up to do that work. Each of the three clients’ repeated attempts to reach Ball by phone or e-mail failed. The landlord of Ball’s Big Pine Key storefront said that Ball abandoned his unit without having paid the rent for several months. Ball seemed to have disappeared with everyone’s money. Investigators further discovered that Ball never applied for city or county permits required to do his construction. He also contacted a Big Pine Key moving business apparently to move his belonging from his residence in Little Torch Key to his parents’ home in Columbus, Georgia. On August 13, Ball was arrested in Georgia for D.U. I. and police there found out about his outstanding Florida warrants. According to Lori Deson, Court Liaison for Forsyth County in Georgia, Ball has procedurally stymied two hearings intended to return him to Monroe County. The next step, Deson says, is for Georgia to issue a “Governor’s warrant” which will order Ball’s extradition to Florida. Paul Meyers, Chief Investigator for State Attorney Mark Kohl, calls building contractor scams “all too common in hurricane-prone Florida.” Meyers cautions Monroe County consumers to “always ask for business licenses and references and make sure required permits are visibly posted.” He further urged individuals who believe that they were victims of building contracting scams to contact the State Attorney’s office immediately. |
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Last modified:
10/23/07
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