A North Stonington contractor was arrested this month after he allegedly ripped off a former Waterford first selectman and lied about being a registered contractor.
Michael Douton, Jr., 37, of North Stonington, was arrested this month for representing himself falsely as a registered home contractor and for making home improvements without a home contracting registration. The arrest followed an incident in December of 2011 when he allegedly did a poor job paving the driveway of Anthony Gigliotti, a former Waterford first selectman.
“He did a terrible job,” Gigliotti’s wife, Ann Gigliotti, said. “He took the money and went.”
Douton said he was a registered contractor, when in fact he was using his uncle’s registration number, according to an arrest report written by Michael Green, an investigator for the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection. Douton could not get his own registration because he is a convicted felon, according to Green.
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On Dec. 12, 2011, Douton agreed to pave the Gigliotti’s driveway on Fulmore Drive for $2,200, which Anthony Gigliotti paid him full in cash. The two signed a contract that included a contracting registration number that Douton said was his, but was later found out to be his uncle’s.
Douton paved the driveway, and did a poor job, according to Anthony Gigliotti. Douton didn’t finish all the curbing Gigliotti asked him to do, and the asphalt was put down too thin so it cracked, Gigliotti said.
“It was a poor job,” Gigliotti said.
Gigliotti said he called Douton several times before Douton finally came out again in March of 2012. There, Douton said he would redo the driveway, but Gigliotti said he instead wanted his money back.
“I asked for a refund, which he refused to do,” Gigliotti said. “He offered to repave the driveway, but after he did such a bad job the first time, I didn’t trust him anymore.”
After Douton refused to give Gigliotti’s money back, Gigliotti called the Department of Consumer Protection. He also got bids from other contractors to redo the driveway, with the cheapest one coming in at $3,800, according to Green’s report.
Green investigated Douton and found he was not a registered home contractor. When Green interviewed Douton, Douton said it was his uncle’s number, according to the report.
According to the report, Douton applied for a contractor’s license in 2007, but was denied because he is a convicted felon.
Douton was arrested this month for representing himself falsely as a registered home contractor and for making home improvements without a home contracting registration. He is scheduled to appear in court on January 16th.
Patch called the address where Douton was listed as living, and got ahold of his father, who said Douton no longer lives there. He said he did not have a contact number for Douton. Patch called Douton’s company, Douton Paving, but the number was no longer in service.
Gigliotti said he was still out his $2,200 and his driveway is still a mess. He said he was hoping to get his money refunded and then will get his driveway fixed.
Editor's Note: The original article said Douton was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol following a crash where the passenger died. Douton was the passenger in that accident.
