By JAMES BELL
Hays Post
Bartholomew J. Daley, 34, Fort Worth, Texas, was arrested by Hays police following an incident in which an anonymous male reported a local bank branch was going to be robbed. The robbery never occurred, but Daley, accused of making the call, has a history of alleged criminal activity stretching from North Dakota to Texas.
In the last few years, according to reports, Daley has been arrested, investigated and sued in various states and counties.
Those include a case in Sedgwick County where he was found guilty of felony theft, according to Georgia Cole, spokeswomen for the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s office.
Sentencing for that case is scheduled for Sept. 1.
Daley and others allegedly ran a long-term construction scam around the Wichita area, offering asphalt work at a significantly reduced price for cash up front, but rarely completed the work.
Daley has also been implicated in a civil case filed by Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt in a case stemming from complaints from Kansas consumer affairs alleging “defendants included failing to complete promised work after receiving payment in full, failing to provide consumers with a three day right to cancel the transaction as required by law, not providing consumers with refunds due and making false representations about the work that would be done. In addition, the defendants failed to respond to investigators and left the state,” according to a media release by Schmidt’s office.
The suit was filed in May in Shawnee County District Court against Daley, and others doing business as Pave All Asphalt Paving, Pave-A-Lot and Daley Contracting.
The lawsuit seeks $112,000 in civil penalties, court costs and investigative fees, and restitution for the named consumers. The attorney general alleges transactions occurred in Ellis, Gove, McPherson, Ness, Ottawa, Riley, Saline and Sedgwick counties.
Daley had been implicated in a similar scam in North Dakota in 2010, doing business as B.D. Sealcoating.
The Better Business Bureau had issued an alert for Daley this year, as well.
“This business first came to the BBB’s attention in late March 2015,” according to the BBB website. “Consumers allege that Bud Daley a/k/a Bartholomew J. Daley came to their homes and stated that he works for Pave A Lot, and wanted to do asphalt paving. Upon agreeing to the asphalt work, consumers allegedly reported that Mr. Daley persuaded them to pay funds upfront by stating that he does not have the funds to purchase needed materials since all of his additional funds are going toward the care of an ill child.”