I-TEAM INVESTIGATION: Pool Problems

Thursday, May 10, 2018

News 12 @ 6 O'clock / NBC 26 at 7

GRANITEVILLE, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) -- Tonight, a Graniteville family is left with two big holes: one in their backyard and other in their wallet.

They say a local contractor left them high and dry with an unfinished pool. When our I-Team started digging, Meredith Anderson didn't just find mug shots and court dates; she uncovered what appears to be a pattern of pool problems. Yet, he's still able to do business.

"Why not a pool? Let's put a pool in!"

This isn't exactly what Dan and Jenn Peterson had in mind when they decided to take the plunge. "He made it sound like he wanted to build us a dream backyard," Jenn said. "I believe he said that exactly. I'll build you a dream," said Dan.

A dream is exactly what the Petersons needed. Their son had just been involved in a riding lawnmower accident. He was 5 years-old at the time. It happened as he was running next to his dad as he was cutting the grass. "He fell face first and by the time I saw him, I couldn't stop in time," Dan said. "The mower deck went over the back of his leg." It's a miracle he didn't lose his life or his leg.

Noah was still in a wheelchair, about to have his eighth surgery. The Petersons hoped that maybe therapy in a pool could help him walk again. At the very least, they thought it could be a place to play like a normal kid with his twin brother and two sisters. The family had just moved to the area, and they wanted to move pretty quickly on the project. Jenn re meeting Earl for the first time. "He went by Earl White, and we thought, 'Great White Pools.' It made sense, you know?" "He played it off as he was, you know, just getting into the business, you know, and starting up his company," Dan said. "He needed the money in order to pay his subs and get materials. I said, okay. That's understandable.”

With no red flags, Earl had a green light, and, at first, the Petersons had progress. Then, they say it kind of became a joke when Earl might show up.

Turns out Earl is Earl Chastagner, and he's no stranger to being in deep water. Just a couple of years ago, an Aiken County judge convicted him of fraud. The case involved two different pools with the very same problems. Both incident reports show Earl wasn't showing up to do the work, and both families had to hire other businesses to finish. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to eight years of probation. The judge also ordered him to make monthly payments to his victims.

He hasn't been.

Just this month, he was in court for violating his probation. He's due in court again this summer.

In the midst of all of this, how was he allowed to start work at the Peterson's? For one, his business had a new name: Great White Pools. Before that, it was ed under Affordable Gunite. Our I-Team found other names too, but what our I-Team’s Meredith Anderson didn't find was a general contractor's license.

But what’s surprising is he's not required to have one. South Carolina only requires that for commercial pool builders. There are no statewide licensing or construction requirements for residential pool builders. The Petersons now are $30,000 in the hole for a big hole in their backyard as they enter their third summer with an unfinished pool. "All the edges were uneven. They were sagging. They weren't pretty," Dan said.

The stone grotto that sets at one end of the pool isn't safe. The Petersons called an inspector with Aiken County to check it out. He called it "unsatisfactory." The family didn’t want to risk it, so they're paying another company $5,000 to replace it. Add that to the almost $20,000 they'll pay another pool company to finish the pool. That brings their grand total now to more than $55,000. "We've made promises to our kids and we've always intended to keep them, and this is something we feel that we've let them down. And that's very painful,” said Jenn.

When reporter Meredith Anderson called pool builder Earl Chastagner last week, they spoke on the phone for about 45 minutes. They even set up a time to meet. He said "no cameras," and then on the morning of their meeting, he texted the reporter that he couldn't make it, saying there wasn't enough time to present everything. "The the truth is much longer than what most would understand," he wrote.

He also said his criminal arrest and problems in the past have nothing to do with the present.

The Petersons live in South Carolina, but News 12’s I-Team has found problems with Earl's work right now in Georgia.

Our I-Team is also taking a closer look at that. Stay tuned.