Former Weiss Flooring employees testify in Will Dismukes trial

Previous staff of Weiss Flooring Corporation shared testimony in the situation against former Condition Rep. Will Dismukes of Prattville Tuesday as the prosecution seeks to prove that Dismukes charged the enterprise for function that was never ever concluded.

The prosecution has targeted on two careers in distinct, one at Prattville Town Corridor and yet another at the VA Hospital on Perry Hill Road in Montgomery, in which they say Dismukes was paid out a total of about $36,000 for work never finished.

Adam Whitley, president of Weiss Flooring, said that when he and investigators went back again by means of the pay applications submitted by Will Dimsukes for his father, Invoice Dismukes, on the VA Hospital job, the total sq. footage of floor prep that was paid out exceeded the volume of sq. footage at the clinic “by the 1000’s.”

“The making is about 27,000 square ft,” Whitley claimed. “The amount paid out for was way extra than that. In addition other laborers on the career did floor prep as nicely.”

Whitley claimed Dismukes, as undertaking supervisor, would have the sole duty that his sub-contractors had been not being overpaid and that operate was not staying double-billed to two unique crews.

Chris Tindal, who labored with Weiss for 21 yrs and labored as an hourly installer on the VA Hospital challenge, testified that he did flooring prep on at least two rooms at the VA Healthcare facility, such as just one space that had been “skimmed” just before he got there, but had been done improperly. Skimming has been a term brought up lots of occasions through the trial and refers to a process of subfloor preparing in which a cement-like mix is poured onto the current slab to make it easy sufficient to be bonded with the new flooring, these as vinyl. Tindal explained in this case that debris this kind of as sheetrock had been left on the floor when the skimming was accomplished, thus leaving many imperfections in the subfloor that prevented him from remaining equipped to immediately set up the ground.

Tindal testified he was advised that Bill Dismukes had been he one particular to skim, or “patch,” that flooring. When requested by a prosecutor no matter if he would be amazed to find out that anyone was paid $28,000 for that function, Tindal replied “Shoot, I desire it had been me.”

“Being that I patched it two more times, I assume I’m owed $56,000,” Tindal reported.

David Stephens worked with Weiss as a sub-contractor at Prattville Town Hall immediately after the first installation after a maker defect in the flooring led the corporation to redo the flooring.

Stephens testified that when the floors had been pulled up, the sub-floor was disclosed to be a “terrazzo” ground, an additional time period that came up typically in the trial on Tuesday. Stephens explained that Terrazzo is a kind of sub-ground that generally involves small to no prep do the job, as it is currently easy plenty of for the new flooring to be set up. The state also admitted photos of the pulled-up flooring into proof, which Whitley testified showed small to no indications of skimming being carried out, only outdated glue.

And but, prosecutors stated pay purposes for Bill Dismukes provided 24,000 sq. toes of flooring preparation for that job.

Paige Stone, who labored as an external accountant with Weiss for four a long time and then internally as the company’s bookkeeper explained that project managers usually introduced her the pay out programs for their sub-contractors, and she would provide the checks to Whitley or one more person with check out-signing authority. 

Most of the sub-contractors would occur into the office on their own to decide up their checks fairly than getting to hold out for them to occur by the mail. But Stone testified there was an exception for Invoice Dismukes, who lived in Prattville, It was common exercise for Will Dismukes to pick up his father’s checks, she testified, as he also lived in Prattville and could choose his checks to his father specifically. Stone testified that there wasn’t any concern about this approach at the time.

Nonetheless, the prosecution has entered into proof at least one particular test intended for Monthly bill Dismukes, who is legally William Dismukes Jr., that was endorsed by “William Dismukes III,” his son. And prosecutors say numerous checks meant for Invoice Dismukes were being either cashed by Will or deposited into Will’s have bank account.

At minimum one particular of all those checks was for work done at Auburn University’s Cambridge Hall, but Whitely admitted he just can’t say regardless of whether the operate was carried out, as the flooring was mounted and any floor prep work would be underneath that flooring. 

Protection attorney Abundant White took the opportunity in cross-examinations to problem irrespective of whether project administrators work off the believe in of their subcontractors, which they all agreed to, portray a photo that Will Dismukes would not essentially be examining at the rear of his father’s do the job to be certain that it was finished appropriately.

Tindal’s account of the shoddy patchwork carried out by Bill Dismukes played into White’s previous line of defense, that Invoice Dismukes experienced carried out work, it was just inadequately finished. 

White questioned the inclusion of the proof these types of as Auburn University’s Cambridge Corridor, noting that Dismukes is on demo for theft of assets and not forgery, and that if the get the job done was accomplished, anyone deserved to get paid for the perform. Whitley agreed and said that the particular endorsement of that check out is not meant to clearly show theft but to illustrate that Dismukes was signing checks meant for his father.

David Myrick, who labored as a challenging tile installer in the VA Hospital’s 13 loos, testified that no waterproofing had been accomplished prior to his arrival, and also testified to observing Invoice Dismukes at moments on the position apparently functioning on patching flooring, and also claimed Invoice Dislike experienced removed 1 of the showers in the rest room wherever Myrick was putting in a new shower.

He also testified to other sub-contractors performing there on floor prep, including Tindal and an additional sub-contractor Billy Smith.

White also questioned every of the true sub-contractors no matter if it would be regular for them to potentially decide up supplies from the warehouse, in protection to the prosecution’s assertion that no flooring elements had been procured to do the total of preparation function that had been billed for. On the other hand, while witnesses testified they could get product or service straight from the warehouse, it was usually accounted for with the challenge administrators.

Stone testified that the largest purple flag came when she turned in 1099 tax kinds for the 2017 calendar year to Whitley. She explained he instantly balked at the figure for what Bill Dismukes experienced supposedly worked.

The 1099 confirmed Bill Dismukes had obtained $164,511 for his work in 2017. His past 1099 in 2016 only amounted to about $33,500. 

“This amount of money of a leap would be abnormal,” Stone stated. “It’s pretty much as if we were only making use of him to do every one issue.”

The prosecution also even more illustrated an alleged reimbursement strategy by Dismukes in which he signed a sort admitting to dishonestly taking $32,000 from the company and agreed to spend back $5,000 a thirty day period. The prosecution went by way of textual content messages amongst Whitley and Dismukes adhering to their meeting at VN Pho in Montgomery talking about the issue. The text messages backed up Whitley’s account of asking Dismukes for months immediately after that lunch conference about repaying the funds, and Dismukes expressing he would provide the dollars shortly.

The demo carries on Wednesday as Dismukes’ ex-spouse Amber Dismukes is predicted to just take the stand to authenticate and Instagram publish that prosecutors say exhibits flooring that was taken from the Weiss warehouse and made use of in Dismukes’ have residence renovation project. The prosecution also nevertheless has to connect with investigator Andrew Magnus and Monthly bill Dismukes himself to the stand to testify. The defense also expects to have two witnesses.

The demo could wrap up by finish of working day Wednesday but is anticipated to return a verdict someday Thursday.