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State v. Hicks12/31/2003
Defendant-appellant, William J. Hicks, appeals his conviction in the Butler County Court of Common Pleas for engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity.
Timothy Hicks, Daniel Hicks, and appellant are brothers. On December 14, 2001, appellant was indicted on one count of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity in violation of R.C. 2923.32(A)(1), the Ohio RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) Act, one count of attempted theft by deception in violation of R.C. 2923.02(A), and 21 counts of theft by deception in violation of R.C. 2913.02(A)(3) involving 18 customers and three commercial suppliers. Timothy was indicted on one count of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity and 22 counts of complicity to theft by deception. Daniel was indicted on one count of theft by deception, one count of complicity to theft by deception, one count of forgery, and six counts of passing bad checks. Daniel pled guilty to most of the charges and was sentenced accordingly. Appellant and Timothy were jointly tried before a jury in May 2002. Timothy testified at trial, appellant did not. Daniel testified at their trial as a witness for the state.
Testimony at trial revealed that in 2000, appellant was the owner of APF Buildings, Inc., a construction company building pole barns and garages. Hired in May 2000 as a laborer, Daniel quickly became a salesperson for APF where he worked until he was fired mid-September 2000. Hired in 1999, Timothy worked in the field until APF went out of business on January 26, 2001. From February to September 2000, APF had a business account with Firstar Bank. Unlike Daniel, Timothy was a cosignatory on the account. A debit card was issued to appellant in February, and again in June. A debit card was eventually issued to Timothy in June. In September 2000, appellant closed the account with Firstar Bank and opened a business account at Fifth Third Bank where both he and Timothy were issued a debit card.
The indictment against appellant and his brothers stemmed from a continuing course of conduct in 2000 and through January 26, 2001 during which APF entered into contracts with several customers to build pole barns and other structures on their property. Upon signing the contract, the customers were required to pay a 20 percent deposit. In most instances, the customers were subsequently asked, several weeks or months later, to pay an additional amount for materials. Some customers received some materials, others never received anything. Construction starting dates were systematically delayed numerous times. Phone calls were not returned. When customers could reach him on the phone, each time appellant promised them that their building would soon be built. The barns and other structures were never built. In January 2001, most customers received a letter from an attorney informing them that effective January 26, 2001, APF was no longer in business. The customers were never refunded their money. Their losses varied from $1,680 to $19,832. With regard to the commercial suppliers, the indictment stemmed from a course of conduct in 2000 during which APF did not pay the suppliers for the materials delivered on APF construction sites.
Many customers testified that after September 2000, appellant blamed the construction delays and APF's problems on Daniel. At appellant's trial, Daniel admitted writing and turning in several phony contracts, depositing bad checks in the business account to cover the phony contracts, collecting money from four customers, allegedly for materials, to cover the bad checks, failing to turn in a legitimate contract, and collecting a check from a customer for a barn never built and cashing it for himself. According
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