POLICE: NIANTIC MAN TOOK MONEY FOR BATHROOM WORK HE DIDN’T DO

East Lyme — Police have charged a formerly licensed plumber from Niantic with taking money from an elderly woman for work he never performed.

Police said 46-year-old Scott Sheehan of S.D.S. Plumbing and Heating agreed in August to build a bathroom in the basement of a home at 4 E. Pattagansett Road in Niantic, which is owned by 75-year-old Edith Guzallis.

Guzallis told police Sheehan took a $1,800 down payment, drew up a proposal, sent another man to frame out the room and then asked for $1,000 more for plumbing supplies, which she gave him.

Guzallis said the permit for the plumbing was under the name of Peter Brand, a man Sheehan spoke to about the project but then didn’t call on to do the work.

Brand told police he visited the site once and found the bottom plate was not pressure-treated wood and would need to be removed and reinstalled to be code compliant.

Guzallis said Sheehan didn’t come back after taking the extra $1,000 — he would either ignore calls or come up with excuses. She told him she wanted her money back minus the cost of framing to no avail.

Police said Sheehan had a plumbing and piping license that expired in 2009 and a home improvement contractor license that lapsed in 2005.

Police on Friday charged Sheehan, of 67 Stonywood Drive, Niantic, with third-degree larceny, offering home improvement without a license, failure to provide notice of cancellation, failure to provide duplicate notice of cancellation, failure to provide oral notice of cancellation and offering plumbing work without a license.

Sheehan’s posted a $4,300 bond and was released. Information about when he is due in New London Superior Court was not immediately available. Conservation Police, state police, Lyme firefighters, the South District Dive Team and the state police dive team began searching for the man, who went missing near the Hadlyme Ferry launch, about 6:30 p.m. Sunday.

The launch is next to Gillette Castle State Park, which does not have a designated swimming area.

Officials called off the search when the sun went down Sunday but resumed it on Monday. The DEEP referred to the man as a drowning victim in announcing it had suspended the search.