The owner of a pool company who’s accused of leaving a path of destruction across Massachusetts will not have his bail reduced as he awaits trial in Plymouth County.
As the NBC10 Investigators reported in July, Steven Docchio was arrested on a warrant following a grand jury investigation that resulted in a 17-count criminal indictment.
On Oct. 18, Docchio appeared in court for this first time since his arraignment.
At his previous court date, the pool contractor had fired his public defender and addressed the judge directly as he defended himself against all the failed projects documented in NBC10’s “To Catch a Contractor” series.
“This isn’t catch the contractor. It’s catch the dishonest client,” Docchio said in July after pleading not guilty. “This is all brought up on lies and allegations from Mr. Media.”
On this occasion, a more reserved Docchio let his attorney do the talking.
Public defender Karissa Flynn said her client’s bail should be reduced to $10,000 so he can get out of jail and help review stacks of customer contracts and financial records to prepare for trial.
“This is not a case where someone was collecting money and completely not showing up,” Flynn said. “Certainly, there is evidence to show that he was not a very good bookkeeper. He was not a very good business person. But that is not evidence of a criminal intent.”
Flynn said Docchio has a fiancée and two young children living in Plymouth. She said Docchio’s mother would take out a $10,000 loan on her home to help him post bail.
While out of jail, Flynn said her client would be on GPS monitoring and understood he would be barred in working in the construction industry.
“The fact that he’s still here in custody three months after the court set bail at $50,000 is indicative of the fact that he does not have this large stash of money that the Commonwealth is alleging,” Flynn said.
The indictment accuses Docchio of landing contracts by giving customers unrealistic deadlines during the pandemic, when demand for this kind of home improvement work was high. Several customers told us the contractor promised they’d be “swimming by the 4th of July” when other companies had waiting lists of more than a year.
Once the contract had been signed, customers said they later discovered pool equipment and project supplies were never ordered months after they’d written the checks.
The indictment estimates the amount of stolen funds at $500,000. The charges include larceny, home improvement contractor violations, tax evasion, money laundering, and pandemic unemployment fraud.
“This defendant is, I would suggest, the epitome of a flight risk,” Plymouth County prosecutor Alexander Zane said.
Zane argued that even after extensive media coverage and having his home improvement contractor registration permanently revoked in Massachusetts, the contractor still tried to skirt detection and perform construction projects.
Zane referenced a recent case involving an elderly couple in Wareham. According to town permit paperwork reviewed by the NBC10 Investigators, Docchio changed the first letter of his last name, going by “Steve Bocchio.”
“[The couple] finally terminated him. And the next day, they turn on NBC10 and see he’s got an active warrant out for his arrest,” Zane said. “This is somebody that will not comply with court orders. He does not take the court seriously.”
Judge William Sullivan took the case under advisement and said he wanted time to review the 88-page bail argument prosecutors filed with Docchio’s indictment.
In his decision two weeks later, Judge Sullivan decided the $50,000 bail should remain unchanged. He cited the contractor’s ties to Brazil, his convictions in other states, and his history of court defaults.
On Wednesday morning, Docchio’s attorney with the Committee for Public Counsel Services filed a motion to withdraw from the case.
“There has been an irretrievable breakdown in the attorney-client relationship and counsel and the defendant have reached an impasse resulting in an inability to communicate and work together in this matter,” public defender Jason Green wrote in his motion.
Docchio will be appointed a new public defender prior to his next scheduled court date on Dec. 6.
On Wednesday morning, Docchio’s attorney with the Committee for Public Counsel Services filed a motion to withdraw from the case.
“There has been an irretrievable breakdown in the attorney-client relationship and counsel and the defendant have reached an impasse resulting in an inability to communicate and work together in this matter,” public defender Jason Green wrote in his motion.
Docchio will be appointed a new public defender prior to his next scheduled court date on December 6.
Ryan Kath can be reached at ryan.kath@nbcuni.com. You can follow him on Twitter or connect on Facebook.
