Boyceville contractor charged with two counts of theft
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By LeAnn R. Ralph
MENOMONIE — A Boyceville contractor has been charged with two felony counts of theft in a business setting totaling more than $5,000.
A criminal complaint was filed in Dunn County Circuit Court against Richard D. Madison on April 30.
The complaint identifies Madison’s address as 284th Street, Boyceville.
According to the complaint, a woman in the Town of Tainter had accepted a written bid in the amount of $24,000 from Madison on November 30, 2018, to renovate her newly-acquired house to make it handicapped accessible.
Madison required a deposit of 75 percent, and the woman wrote a check out to him on November 30 for $18,000. The project was scheduled to begin the Monday after Thanksgiving, and Madison said it would take four to six weeks to complete. Madison cashed the check on December 1, but the remodeling work was never completed, including the installation of a kitchen island, according to the complaint.
The complaint also notes the homeowner pointed out to investigators numerous items Madison had not completed and that the materials were in her kitchen yet.
Deck
The homeowner discussed a deck project with Madison on January 30 that was supposed to be completed after the house was remodeled.
Madison told the woman material prices were “soaring” at Menards. The store would only guarantee prices for a week, so the woman should “lock in” his bid quickly, according to the complaint.
Madison wrote a bid for a 12-foot by 16-foot deck for $6,284 and required a 75 percent deposit of $4,838. The woman wrote a check for the required amount on February 1, and Madison cashed the check the same day at WESTconsin Credit Union, the complaint states.
Later on, the homeowner asked Madison for a list of materials to prove he had purchased them. Madison told the woman he would return the deck deposit to her one week after March 15. To date, the woman has not received her deck deposit, and Madison stopped communicating with the woman after he said she would receive her deposit the week after March 15, according to the complaint.
$3,000
The homeowner also told investigators Madison had sent her a message via Facebook on February 15 asking for $3,000 of the $6,000 payment that remained on the remodeling project from November.
Madison told the homeowner he was behind on several bills, including his mortgage, truck and insurance payments, according to the complaint.
The woman wrote a check out to Madison for $3,000 on February 15, and Madison cashed the check on the same day at WESTconsin Credit Union, the complaint states.
After writing out the check for $3,000, the woman became concerned about the work for which she had contracted that had yet to be completed. As of March 26, Madison had not provided a list for materials purchased at Menards for the deck, causing the woman to believe he had spent the $4,838 elsewhere, according to the complaint.
Madison also did not finish the remodeling project, for which the woman had written another check to him for $3,000, causing the woman to obtain bids from other contractors, the complaint states.
Madison
When a Dunn County deputy contacted Madison at his residence on March 26, Madison admitted he was doing work for the woman, but he also admitted he did not plan to return to the woman’s house to finish the work he had started, according to the complaint.
Madison told the deputy he had returned the deck material to Menard’s, and when the deputy asked why Madison had not yet returned the money to the woman, Madison said he had not returned the money because of “the way she was $%^& him around,” the complaint states. (The Tribune could not print the words he used.)
The deputy told Madison he needed to return the additional $3,000 the woman had paid for the remodeling project to make her house handicapped accessible and that Madison also needed to return the $4,838 she had paid him for the deck, according to the complaint.
The deputy informed Madison he must return the money by April 8, and if Madison did not return the money, he would be charged with a crime. Madison said he would have a cashier’s check for $7,838 to the woman by April 8, although as of April 8, he had not returned any of the money, the complaint states.
Theft in a business setting of more than $5,000 is a Class I felony that, upon conviction, carries a penalty of up to three years and six months in prison and/or a fine of up to $10,000.
Madison was scheduled to make an initial appearance in Dunn County Circuit Court May 7 before Judge James Peterson.
