An Erie County construction worker will spend weekends in the Genesee County Jail for the next four months, starting tonight, for defrauding a Batavia resident on a contracting job.
Matthew B. Hardesty, 24, of Blasdell, was originally charged with fourth-degree grand larceny. He was allowed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge after paying restitution to the victim, who hired him to construct a fence at his residence on Narramore Drive.
According to court proceedings this morning, Hardesty is facing a similar complaint in Buffalo.
Before sentencing, Hardesty apologized for his actions and said it was the result of being a young and inexperienced businessman; that he had taken on a contract that was too big and had a payout too far in advance, and rather than notify customers of his difficulties, he didn't respond to their complaints.
After becoming embroiled in financial difficulties, Hardesty gave up his contracting business and went to work for another construction contractor.
District Attorney Lawrence Friedman rarely responds to the statements defendants make at their sentencing, but this morning he stood up and said he was going to make a rare response.
"He's a scam artist," Friedman said. "He's trying to con the court now."
Friedman said Hardesty already got a substantial break on his potential sentence by being allowed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor and didn't deserve any further consideration because he was clearly trying to scam people.
Judge Charles Zambito agreed. He said considering the length that his victim had to go to in order to get his money back indicates Hardesty was trying to evade paying back the money. It was only after he was facing potential jail time that he made restitution.
"The message needs to be clear to the public that you can't do this kind of thing here," Zambito said. "When you start a business, you take on a responsibility. You take on a burden. You can't take people's hard-earned money and just walk away with it."
