well, there's a little more to it than that. the contractor was actually ordered by the police to stay away from the home.
boston herald:
Attorney: Lawsuit vs. Weis is out of bounds: Pats coach fired builder, feared for family safety
By J.M. Lawrence
Wednesday, January 5, 2005
The general contractor who claims Patriots offensive coordinator Charlie Weis stiffed him out of $161,000 was fired for never finishing Weis' home and ordered by the Rhode Island State Police to stay away from the Weis family.
*****``We changed the locks, put him out and brought in another contractor to finish the house,'' Weis' attorney, William Devereaux, said yesterday. ``Some people have absolutely no shame.''
*****Builder Steven Benoit hit the coach with a federal lawsuit in Boston on Dec. 29, weeks after Weis landed a $2 million-per-year deal to coach Notre Dame's football team.
*****Benoit claims Weis never paid him the full $373,600 bill for the home in Cumberland, R.I., where the Weis family has lived since 2001.
*****Devereaux said the builder's foot-dragging on the property forced the Weis family to live in a hotel for several weeks during Patriots training camp in the summer of 2000 and eventually to buy another house to live in while the first house was finished.
*****When Benoit didn't finish the house by the end of the year despite signing an additional agreement, Weis fired him, Devereaux said.
*****Benoit claims in court papers that the house was finished in October. The builder claims he's been chasing his money ever since.
*****``If you look at the time line, construction started in June and was finished in October. The house is enormous. How fast do you want to build a house?'' Benoit's attorney, Ronald W. Dunbar Jr., said yesterday.
*****When Weis and his wife, Maura, eventually told the builder in March 2001 that they weren't going to pay, Benoit allegedly showed up two months later inside the Weis home without an invitation, Devereaux said.
*****The visit upset the family, and the coach later called the police. Rhode Island State Police Maj. Brendan P. Doherty had Benoit put on notice not to bother the family again.
*****``Charlie went on to say this man was driving by the house, making inappropriate comments to his wife and tacitly threatening the family,'' Doherty said yesterday. ``He had some fear for his family that this fellow was making unannounced appearances.''
*****Doherty, who is now retired, said he feared an altercation was likely if Benoit returned and Weis felt compelled to defend his family.
*****Benoit's lawyer denied the builder ever menaced the family. ``Steve Benoit is a very, very nice hard-working guy,'' Dunbar said.
*****Benoit once enjoyed a friendship with Weis and other members of the Patriots staff.
