Local News in Brief : Contractor Denies Stealing From Client

A Woodland Hills landscaping contractor accused of diverting more than $30,000 from a project he abandoned in 1986 pleaded not guilty Monday in Malibu Municipal Court.

Richard Anthony Lepiers, 37, pleaded not guilty to one count of diversion of funds, one count of grand theft and two counts of issuing a check with insufficient funds, said Deputy Dist. Atty. William B. Patrick.

Lepiers allegedly negotiated a contract in August, 1986, with Dr. Theodore Mathews of Agoura Hills to install a new swimming pool, spa, decking, gazebo, and landscaping for $75,590. Between August and September, 1986, Mathews paid Lepiers $62,000, Patrick said.

Lepiers abandoned the project on Oct. 22, 1986, said Detective Imon Mills of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Lepiers told Mathews he did not have any money and could not continue. He later filed for bankruptcy.

Mills said Mathews had to pay subcontractors an additional $36,000 for work Lepiers already had been paid to complete.

Mathews, who had been pursuing the matter through a civil suit, recently filed a criminal complaint against Lepiers, Mills said. Lepiers surrendered to authorities on Monday and was released on $4,500 bail.

If convicted of all offenses, Lepiers could receive a maximum sentence of five years and four months in prison, authorities said.