BURN DOCTOR GOIES TO COURT : PAIR OF DECORATORS BROUGHT TO TRIAL IN THEFT OF $700,000.Byline: Jeannette DeSantis Daily News Staff Writer After earning international fame at the Sherman Oaks burn center that bears his name, Dr. A. Richard Grossman Richard Grossman is the former co-director of the Program on Corporations, Law and Democracy (POCLAD). He is co-author of Taking Care of Business: Citizenship and the Charter of Incorporation. He lectures widely on issues of corporate power, law and democracy. set out to build a house in Ventura County that would reflect his taste and achievement. Commissioned oil paintings. Wooden mantels. Matching wall coverings, draperies and upholstery upholstery, general term for household fittings, hangings, curtains, cushions, and covers. It refers to stuffed, padded, and spring-cushioned furniture, such as chairs and sofas, or to the usually decorative materials and fabrics that cover them. . Grossman and his wife hired an architect and builder, and then she suggested that they entrust the home's interior to a pair of West Hollywood West Hollywood A community of southern California northeast of Beverly Hills. It is mainly residential. Population: 36,600. decorators she knew. The 63-year-old surgeon said he paid them nearly $700,000 to outfit his house with rock fireplaces, expensive antiques from Europe, a limestone wellhead well·head n. 1. The source of a well or stream. 2. A principal source; a fountainhead. 3. The structure built over a well. wellhead Noun 1. , paintings of a horse and dog and other items. Finally in August 1996, after 3-1/2 years of work, the Grossmans were ready to move into their new house. The house wasn't ready for them, however. Only about $100,000 of the work had been done, he said. On Tuesday, Grossman took the witness stand for a half hour in Van Nuys Municipal Court to testify To provide evidence as a witness, subject to an oath or affirmation, in order to establish a particular fact or set of facts. Court rules require witnesses to testify about the facts they know that are relevant to the determination of the outcome of the case. against decorators Dennis Wilcot and David Sweeney, who are charged with grand theft. ``Items were not purchased, which we believed were purchased,'' Grossman explained calmly, not making eye contact with the pair. Grossman said the decorators, 50-year-old Wilcot, and Sweeney, 46, told him they had spent the money instead on living expenses because their business was in a slump. Most of the furnishings furnishings the extra type or quantity of hair on the head, tail, ears or legs, specified for a particular breed. For example, the feathers in setters, the beard in Bearded collies, the eyebrows in Schnauzers. hadn't arrived because they hadn't been paid for fully, Grossman said. They had charged for other items that hadn't even been ordered, he said. Wilcot and Sweeney tried to cut a deal with him, leaving apologetic messages on his answering machine and sending letters stating that they would be forced to file for bankruptcy if they couldn't finish the job, he said. Wilcot ``said he was terribly sorry about what happened and wanted to find a way he could pay me back,'' Grossman testified. Instead, Grossman went to the police. ``There was a betrayal Betrayal See also Treachery. Judas Iscariot apostle who betrays Jesus. [N.T.: Matthew 26:15] Proteus though engaged, steals his friend Valentine’s beloved, reveals his plot and effects his banishment. [Br. of trust here, not just an arm's length transaction Arm's Length Transaction A transaction in which the buyers and sellers of a product act independently of each other and have no relationship to each other. Notes: Such a transaction is absent of any pressure sales tactics or relationships among the various parties. ,'' said Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County Deputy District Attorney Lea Purwin D'Agostino. Grossman said he thought he had a friendly relationship with the designers, whom he referred to in court only as ``Dennis and David.'' ``I saw them a great deal,'' he said, adding, however, that the bills would arrive at his house. ``I would see a bill or statement, sign it, and send it on to my business manager. ``The home was slowly being put together,'' he continued. Wilcot and Sweeney had sought to keep the case from going to trial, but they couldn't afford the terms of the plea agreement: $25,000 quarterly payments, said their attorneys, Roger J. Rosen and Ben W. Pesta II. ``My client is in a business where he can make a lot of money one month and nothing the next,'' said Rosen, who represents Wilcot. Van Nuys Municipal Court Judge Gregg Marcus found that Wilcot and Sweeney should be held to answer to the grand theft charges. They are scheduled to be arraigned March 25 in Van Nuys Superior Court. Grossman's case isn't unique. The Better Business Bureau of Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, reports that contractor fraud ranks among the top 10 complaints. ``Clearly, it is a good idea to do business (with someone you know), but it also is a good idea to always check things out,'' said Edward J. Johnson, vice president of the Better Business Bureau. CAPTION(S): 2 Photos PHOTO (1) Dr. A. Richard Grossman answers questions Tuesday in Van Nuys Municipal Court. (2) David Sweeney and Dennis Wilcot have been charged with doing only about $100,000 of a $700,000 project. David R. Crane/Daily News |
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