FARR WEST, Utah — Mandy and Shane Bertagnolli decided they wanted a pool.
“Your kids are only young one time,” Shane Bertagnolli said, “and we wanted to make it a fun backyard for them.”
An acquaintance suggested Rob Riley at Triton Pool and Spa. The contract shows he agreed to construct the Bertagnolli family a pool behind their Farr West home. The price: $80,000.
A year after construction started, the family was left with a hole that had some plastering on its sides and some utilities – still a long way from a finished pool. They had paid Riley $62,000, according to documents they provided to FOX 13, including some money Riley rebated.
“It's still gonna be about $30,000 to $45,000 more to finish,” Mandy Bertagnolli said, relaying what some other contractors had told her.
Her family is not alone. With records and interviews, FOX 13 found five other Utah families who say Riley hasn’t finished or isn’t finishing the pools he agreed to construct.
“Stuff was getting done,” Shane Bertagnolli said, “and then we'd stop for two, three weeks.”
“’I’ll be here next week. I’ll be here next week,’” Shane Bertagnolli described Riley as saying, “and he doesn’t show up.”
Many pool contractors advertise first swims in eight to 12 weeks.
In an interview last month besides one of his job sites in Layton, Riley said he still plans to finish pools he was contracted for — except at the Bertagnolli home.
“I've got,” Riley said, “a large number of customers that are extremely happy. You know, I've got a few that are not.”
Those who are not include two homeowners who have sued Riley, accusing him of not finishing their pools. In one suit, a Utah judge issued a default judgment against Triton Pool and Spa when the company did not hire an attorney to defend itself.
“There’s no default judgments,” Riley, 48, said when asked about the suits.
“Not that we have been notified of or anything,” he added.
Court records, though, show Riley and his company were notified that Triton would be found in default if it did not take the proper steps to defend itself. The case has moved to a damages phase. Triton also does business as Colloseo, LLC.
Riley, in that mid-September interview, maintained that his projects were only a little behind schedule. He blamed any delays on the snowy winter, supply chain shortages and customers wanting changes mid-project.
He said he would send FOX 13 documentation of clients asking for substantial changes. As of Monday, he had not sent such.
Pool projects must receive inspections from local authorities at various stages of construction. Riley said his pools were, for the most part, up to date on those inspections.
“Yeah, I believe on this one, we missed one on the decking inspection,” he said in that Layton backyard where a hole sat.
But Triton’s lone citation, issued in July from the Utah Division of Professional Licensing, fined the company $800 for not receiving a necessary inspection on a pool he was constructing in Herriman. Building inspectors in Farr West and Layton told FOX 13 in emails that Riley projects had not gotten the required inspections in those cities either.
The inspectors explained that missing those examinations leaves open the possibility of construction errors that could require the projects be dug up and effectively have to start over.
Riley even disputed his identity to FOX 13. At the start of the interview, he gave the name of Robert R. Riley – the name on his Utah contractor’s license.
Later in the interview, he said his middle initial was “P.”
A Robert P. Riley was criminally charged in Nevada in the middle of the ‘00s with counts of submitting bids without a contractor’s license and writing checks without sufficient funds. FOX 13 confirmed the full name, birth date and other identifiers corroborate the Riley of Triton is the same man charged in Nevada.
Riley, though, denied he had ever been charged with crimes in Nevada or he had ever been an unlicensed contractor there.
“Nope,” he said. “Licensed in Nevada 100%”
Records show Riley missed court appearances in Nevada. Prosecutors eventually dismissed the charges after years passed.
At the home in Layton where Riley gave the interview, he said he would be able to finish that pool in two weeks. Two weeks later, however, the hole remained. It appeared the only work that had been done was pulling the weeds that had grown in it.
Riley said he did not intend to finish the Bertagnolli pool.
“Unfortunately,” he said, “the homeowner assaulted me and punched me.”
Riley made a report Aug. 28 to the Weber County Sheriff's Office accusing Shane Bertagnolli of punching him. The sheriff’s office did not substantiate the claim. Shane Bertagnolli denied it, saying he only put his hand on Riley’s arm to slow him down, and has not been cited or charged.
The day after the report to the sheriff, text messages show, Riley agreed to refund Mandy and Shane Bertagnolli $12,000. The couple says he only gave them back $8,000. They have since been looking for other contractors to finish the work.
The couple, as well as other Riley customers who spoke to FOX 13, said they have spoken to the Utah Division of Professional Licensing.
“Our kids are asking, ‘Well, why don't we have a pool?” Mandy Bertagnolli said. “And they're young, they don't understand.”