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Man Acquitted In Manslaughter Trial, Builder Sentenced For Fraud

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 2, 2009

Homebuilder's trial ends with 20-year sentence

One of the largest homebuilder fraud cases in Florida's history ended in a guilty verdict for Steven Bartlett. Bartlett was accused of misappropriating close to $1.6 million intended for home construction for his own personal use.

More than 100 witnesses took the stand and spoke of losing life savings by contracting with Coral Bay Construction to build their home. Bartlett's attorney argued that the homes were going to be built and blamed sloppy bookkeeping for the problems.

Jury acquits suspect of DUI manslaughter

A jury acquitted Brian Gomes of DUI manslaughter two years after a crash that killed his friend, Marc Collins. Instead, he was found guilty of DUI and driving on a suspended license - essentially for the events leading up to the crash.

The verdict surprised many involved in the trial, including the prosecutor, Bill Catto. Catto neglected to include Gomes' driving record - which included three prior DUIs - in the charging information, so the sentence was treated as a first offense. Instead of five years in prison, he was given 11 months in jail.

Battery and burglary suspect gets nine years prison

A Spring Hill man who bragged he "threw down two old people" during a burglary last year received a nine-year prison sentence on Friday.

The burglary occurred five months after Benjamin Jablon, 22, was acquitted of an attempted murder charge in March 2007 related to an attack on a pizza delivery man.

Additionally, Jablon was ordered to pay $500 in restitution for jewelry that was stolen from the house in the 2500 block of Landover Boulevard.

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