Aug 27, 2020 5 min read

More criminal charges have been filed against a McDonald father and son who are operating a deck-building company in Washington County.

Alexander Joseph Walker, 64, and his son, Matthew Alexander Walker, 29, who own and operate Three Rivers Decks and Porches, are both facing felony charges filed in Peters Township. Each was charged Aug. 20 with theft and deceptive business practices, which were sent by summons.

According to the criminal complaint, Janine and James Moretti of Snowberry Circle contacted Peters Township police Aug. 14. The complaint said the couple entered a contract with the Walkers May 28, 2019, to have an old deck removed and a new one built in their backyard. They paid a $1,500 deposit that day with an understanding the work would be completed in November.

On Dec. 6, the Morettis paid another $6,492 to Three Rivers Decks and Porches for the new deck material, the complaint said.

“To this date, the material was not installed and the job was not completed,” the complaint states.

On Dec. 12, employees showed up and removed the existing deck, and on Jan. 14, Alexander and Matthew Walker came to the house to measure the deck area, the complaint said. On May 21, Matthew Walker came to the house to measure a second time.

Between then and early June, workers were able to do some framework, but after June 11, neither the Walkers nor any workers returned to the property or contacted the Morettis, who are seeking restitution of the $7,992 that they paid the Walkers.

The charges are similar to those filed by North Strabane Township police Aug. 17. That case began in 2017, when Christopher Fontana entered a contract with the Walkers to remove an old deck and build a new one.

Fontana paid them a total of more than $17,000, and in June and July, workers removed the old deck and put up the frame for the new one. No work was done after that, however, according to the complaint, and all of Fontana’s attempts to contact the Walkers were unsuccessful. Township code enforcement officials also informed Fontana that the work that had been completed was not done within the building code, the complaint said.

In that case, Alexander Walker, of 135 Fourth St., and Matthew Walker, of 340 Valley St., both of McDonald, were each charged with receiving advance payment for services which they failed to perform and giving a false statement to induce agreement for home improvement services. They were arraigned by District Judge Ethan Ward and released after they each posted a $20,000 bond.

Additionally, Alexander Walker is facing those same two felony charges in an Aug. 7 case filed in Cecil Township. In that case, Alexander Walker allegedly entered a contract with Frank Pollack Aug. 1, 2019, for a porch replacement project at Pollack’s home on Shady Lane. The project was to cost $20,000 and be completed in about three to four weeks, according to the criminal complaint.

The work was started Nov. 6 and more than half the cost was paid. The old porch was taken down and framework for the new one put up, the complaint said. By Nov. 22, the work was stopped after $16,500 had been collected by the company, the complaint said.

According to the complaint, Walker returned to the residence in January and February to do more work, but hasn’t been back since, the complaint states. Pollack told police that every time he tries to contact Walker, he “gets the run around,” the complaint said.

“To this date, the roof over the porch has still not been replaced, the railing has not been completed, the skirting around the porch is still not on and there are floor boards still missing,” the complaint said.

Walker was arraigned in the Cecil case on Aug. 19 by District Judge Ethan Ward and jailed on $14,000 bond, which Walker posted.

Moon Township police said Wednesday that they also received two complaints about the company in January and are investigating.

The Walkers’ attorney, Sean Logue, said in an interview Wednesday that his client had trouble completing the contracted work due to the COVID-19 pandemic and government shutdown.

“This is not a classic contractor fraud case where a contractor comes to your house, takes money and didn’t do any work,” Logue said. “There is not one case where my client accepted money and did not work whatsoever.”

Logue argued that these jobs were 50% to 75% completed when the pandemic began and the Walkers had to lay off 10 employees.

“Those layoffs put a large number of his jobs on hold,” Logue said. “COVID-19 shut down his supply chain as well as his line of credit and revenues taken on new jobs that would be used to pay current employees.”

According to court documents, some of the complainants reported issues with the company before mid-March, when the pandemic began shutting down states across the nation.

Logue also said that Alexander Walker isn’t the owner of the company or an employee, but a “volunteer salesman.” Multiple criminal complaints list him as the owner.