State v. DeGennaro

2012 ME 68, 46 A.3d 1147, 2012 WL 1889730, 2012 Me. LEXIS 68
CourtSupreme Judicial Court of Maine
DecidedMay 24, 2012
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 2012 ME 68 (State v. DeGennaro) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Judicial Court of Maine primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. DeGennaro, 2012 ME 68, 46 A.3d 1147, 2012 WL 1889730, 2012 Me. LEXIS 68 (Me. 2012).

Opinion

MEAD, J.

[¶ 1] Peter C. DeGennaro appeals from a judgment of conviction entered by the Superior Court (Cumberland County, Wheeler, J.) following a jury-waived trial at which it found DeGennaro guilty on an indictment charging him with theft by unauthorized taking or transfer (Class B), 17-A M.R.S. § 353(1)(B)(1) (2011).1 De-Gennaro contends that the evidence was insufficient as a matter of law to support the court’s finding that he unlawfully controlled “the property of another,” see id., and insufficient as a matter of fact to support the court’s finding concerning his intent. We conclude, pursuant to the consolidation section of the statutory chapter setting out theft offenses, 17-A M.R.S. § 351 (2011),2 that the evidence was sufficient to support a finding that DeGennaro was guilty of theft by deception, 17-A M.R.S. § 354(1)(B)(1) (2011),3 and on that basis we affirm the judgment.

I. FACTS

[¶ 2] When a criminal defendant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence, we view the evidence and inferences that may be drawn from it in the light most favorable to the trial court’s judgment to determine whether the court rationally could find each element of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt. State v. McLaughlin, 2009 ME 90, ¶ 8, 977 A.2d 1008; see State v. Schmidt, 2008 ME 151, ¶¶ 19, 21, 957 A.2d 80 (stating that the fact-finder is permitted to draw all reasonable inferences from the evidence, and that “intent can be inferred from the evidence”). The court’s factual findings are reviewed for clear error; in this case we have reviewed the record and find none. See State v. Christian, 2012 ME 51, ¶ 7, 40 A.3d 938.

[¶ 3] In October 2007, Robert and Cynthia Bettencourt decided to build a garage including a home office next to their home in South Portland. About a week after the project was approved by the planning board they received a call from Peter De-Gennaro, who congratulated them on receiving approval and indicated that because his proposal to the board had not been approved, he was available to work on their garage. DeGennaro, who operat[1149]*1149ed a general contracting business called Caldi Builders, met with the Bettencourts two or three times to discuss the project.

[¶ 4] The parties reached an agreement and signed a contract on November 10, 2007, calling for DeGennaro to build the garage and office for $40,900. The Bettencourts were to pay for the project in seven installments, the first due at signing and the remaining payments due as specified milestones were reached. Construction was to be completed on or about February 24, 2008. As to any subcontractors DeGennaro elected to employ, the contract called for him to “fully pay said subcontractor^] and in all instances remain responsible for the proper completion of this contract,” and specified that he “shall be responsible for making all and full payments to any and all Subcontractors, engaged by the Contractor, in a timely manner agreed between them.”

[¶ 5] On November 28, the Betten-courts agreed to a “change order” adding a bathroom to the project for an additional $7900. They wrote two checks to Caldi Builders in the course of their dealings with DeGennaro, one on November 11 for $6500, representing the first payment due upon signing the contract, and the second on November 28 for $18,300, representing the second and third installments due under the contract plus the amount due under the change order, for a total of $24,800.

[¶ 6] DeGennaro had three subcontractors performing excavation and concrete work on the project. In the approximately one month he acted as the general contractor, he wrote the subcontractors four checks drawn on two different accounts: three checks totaling $3600 from Caldi Builders’ account at Saco & Biddeford Savings, and one check for $3800 from a personal account at Sovereign Bank. When one of the subcontractors called Sovereign Bank, he learned that DeGennaro’s account did not have sufficient funds to cover the $3800 check; later, after DeGennaro was fired from the project, the check was deposited and returned for insufficient funds.

[¶ 7] A subcontractor approached Robert Bettencourt to let him know that the bank would not honor the $3800 check. Bettencourt spoke to DeGennaro about the check three times over the next few days. The first time DeGennaro said it was just a misunderstanding; the second time he said that the subcontractors were running an embezzlement scam; and the third time he said the disputed check was not even intended for the Bettencourt project. He told Bettencourt that the subcontractors “were all crazy and they were liars.” At some point DeGennaro stopped returning Bettencourt’s calls and messages. Betten-court met with the subcontractors on December 11 concerning the problems on the project. By that time Bettencourt had informed DeGennaro that he believed De-Gennaro had breached the contract and that he wanted his money back. DeGen-naro accused Bettencourt of threatening him and refused to return any of the $24,800 Bettencourt had paid Caldi Builders. The court found that at that point DeGennaro retained more than $10,000 in excess of his legitimate labor and expenditures.

[¶ 8] Concerned with what the subcontractors told him about the effect of cold weather on the poured and exposed concrete, Bettencourt became the de facto general contractor and worked out agreements with the subcontractors to finish their portion of the work. In connection with those agreements he wrote five checks to the subcontractors totaling $7050. Bettencourt contacted the Attorney General’s Office in an attempt to mediate the dispute with DeGennaro, and eventually reported the incident to the South Portland Police Department.

[1150]*1150[¶ 9] In August 2008, DeGennaro was indicted on one count of theft by unauthorized taking or transfer; the indictment alleged that he exercised unauthorized control over money belonging to the Bet-tencourts in excess of $10,000. DeGenna-ro’s first trial ended in a mistrial due to a discovery issue. At his second trial the court found him guilty. DeGennaro filed motions for a new trial and for a judgment of acquittal; the motions were denied at a hearing and the case was continued for sentencing. At the sentencing hearing the court heard DeGennaro’s renewed motions for a new trial and for a judgment of acquittal and again denied both motions. The court entered judgment and sentenced DeGennaro to seven years’ imprisonment, concurrent with sentences he was serving in Massachusetts for similar conduct, and payment of $24,900 in restitution. DeGen-naro’s application for leave to appeal from sentence was denied, and this appeal followed.

II. DISCUSSION

[¶ 10] DeGennaro contends that the evidence was insufficient to sustain the court’s verdict as a matter of law because the $24,800 the Bettencourts paid him was his sole property once he received it, and therefore was not “the property of another”4 within the meaning of 17-A M.R.S. § 353(1)(A) when he allegedly failed to pay the subcontractors as required by the contract. Because that is so, he argues, he is potentially liable in a breach of contract action, but is not criminally liable for theft.

[¶ 11] We reject DeGennaro’s argument because, on the facts of this case, it focuses on the wrong moment in time, and ignores the trial court’s critical factual findings that DeGennaro “never

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Bluebook (online)
2012 ME 68, 46 A.3d 1147, 2012 WL 1889730, 2012 Me. LEXIS 68, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-degennaro-me-2012.