A Boardman contractor plead "not guilty" when he appeared in Mahoning County Court on Tuesday to answer 27 charges handed up in a grand jury indictment.

John P. Bartos, 40, is charged with one count of grand theft, 18 counts of theft, two counts of passing bad checks, and six counts of theft from a person in a protected class.

Gridiron Windows & Doors LLC, a business owned by Bartos, according to the 2017 business filing with the Ohio Secretary of State's office, also had the same 27 counts listed against it.

Legal troubles for Bartos started when a local man hired Bartos' construction company to replace seven windows in his condo. After putting $2,000 down, the man never heard back from him, leading the man to file a complaint.

More than a dozen people from several local communities have filed similar complaints against Bartos after putting down payments on jobs that never got done.


Back in February, 21 News spoke with several people affected and found the deposits added up to more than $25,000.