Pueblo West contractor charged with stealing $90k from customer denies accusations

PUEBLO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO)- A Pueblo West contractor accused of stealing more than $90,000 from one customer says he is innocent.

55-year-old Garland Lee Waldroop says he didn't steal the money, and he's not a career criminal. But, the Pueblo County Sheriff's Office and his former customers seem to disagree.

That contractor talked to KRDO after his court appearance earlier Wednesday.

According to the Pueblo County Sheriff's Office, Waldroop has been under investigation since December 2021 after allegations that he agreed to construct four metal buildings for a client, but that work never materialized.

According to the sheriff's office, the client gave Waldroop a $90,000 deposit. The client, Terry Ferrari, says the work was never completed and some of the materials were never delivered.

"I think he thinks this is a good little niche he's found, where he can take big money off people, claim civil, and get away with it," Ferrari told KRDO.

Waldroop is out of jail, but charged with bait advertising. An arrest affidavit says Waldroop presented himself as a dealer for the company Star Buildings but offered a slightly used product, which they don't sell.

"Star dropped us over this case," Waldroop said. "Nothing that we did wrong, they just took the high road."

"He paid a deposit and decided not to buy the building after that," Waldroop claimed. "I refused to give his money back."

Ferrari made a website to find other alleged victims: Leewaldrropinfo.com. It worked.

"Everything I'm telling you, you can find on the website that he created to ruin my life," Waldroop said. "There's a major defamation and libel lawsuit right there that's going to take place."

Ferrari is not the only one claiming Waldroop conned him. According to the arrest affidavit, at least four people are telling a similar story. A manager at the Metal Mart in Pueblo West has Waldroop on his 'do not sell' list after he allegedly cheated the store out of more than $1,000.

"Every one of the people that have stepped forward with you has a debt with us," Waldroop contested.