Contracting deal in Boardman leads to charges of deception

By Denise Dick

The Youngstown man is accused of similar crimes in Austintown.

BOARDMAN — Jerry Clark says he trusted Kenneth Uthe to do the work at his Afton Avenue home that he promised and was paid to do.

Instead, Clark paid about $1,200 for roofing work that was never finished, township police said.

Police have charged Uthe, 41, of Hilton Avenue, Youngstown, with theft by deception of an elderly or disabled person. He is housed in the Mahoning County Jail.

A preliminary hearing that was scheduled for Tuesday in Mahoning County Court here was continued.

“I’m a disabled veteran, and he took advantage of that,” said Clark, 54.

The U.S. Navy and Air Force Reserve veteran suffered two strokes three years ago that left him disabled.

Detective Glenn Patton believes there could be other victims who may be embarrassed to report the crimes.

Uthe is accused of similar crimes in Austintown.

Detective Sgt. Dan Kosco of Austintown Police said Uthe has been charged with three counts of theft by deception — two felonies and one misdemeanor — in that community.

Like in Boardman, Uthe is accused of approaching the Austintown victims, telling them they needed work done at their homes, collecting money and not completing the work. Two of the Austintown victims also are elderly, Kosco said.

Atty. Roklyn DePerro Turner, who represents Uthe, said she hasn’t had the opportunity to discuss the Austintown charges with her client.

“As far as the Boardman charges, he adamantly denies any wrongdoing,” Turner said. “If anything, he believes he was taken advantage of as a contractor.”

Clark says he filed the police report to try to prevent others from being victimized.

“I just figured that I know he’s going to do it to somebody else,” Clark said. “I wanted to try to save someone else from the headaches and from getting their heart broken.”

When Uthe approached Clark, Uthe was with his teenage son, Clark said.

“I didn’t think that he was a fly-by-night guy. He was with his son and was from around Boardman,” he said. “I just got taken.”

A judge issued a warrant for Uthe’s arrest, and he was arrested at his Hilton Avenue apartment last week.

Patton said Youngstown Sgt. Mike Lambert obtained a search warrant for Uthe’s residence when Uthe refused to leave the apartment when contacted by police. Police forced their way into the home and arrested Uthe, who also had a warrant for grand theft from Austintown Police and for a probation violation from Summit County. The original Summit County charge also was a theft by deception with an elderly or disabled victim, Patton said.

One of the vehicles that Uthe had been reported driving in Boardman was a blue Nissan that was registered to Uthe’s roommate. The roommate gave police consent to search the car and they found paperwork indicating that other people had paid Uthe for home improvement work.

Anyone who believes they may be a victim of Uthe should contact their local police department, Patton said.

An address listed by Uthe for his business is actually the address of the UPS store in the Boardman Plaza, the detective said.

“Be careful of people who just approach you at your house” soliciting home-improvement work, Patton cautioned. “Check with the Better Business Bureau, get several estimates, call reputable companies that have been around for awhile, and check with family members and see who they’ve used that they’ve been happy with.”