A former owner of a successful cabinet making company is on trial in Hartford, charged with writing a bad check for $250,000 and accused of making some harsh threats to a builder. He's also in some trouble down south over allegations made by former employees of his record label.
Prosecutors say James Lestorti wrote the check to a builder for work done on his Avon home back in 2004.
David Somers, co-owner of Building Traditions LLC, testified Tuesday that Lestorti threatened to have someone break his fingers when he tried to collect the money from Lestorti, the Waterbury Republican American reports.
It's not the only legal trouble Lestorti, the former co-owner of LesCare Kitchens Inc., faces.
He also founded a record label in Nashville, Tenn., and nine former employees and contractors there are suing Lestorti for breach of contract, fraud, negligent misrepresentation, assault and violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, the Nashville Post reported.
The ex-workers filed suit on April 15 against Lestorti and his record label, WhiteStar Entertainment. They claim he attracted all of them to come to work for him in Nashville last year with claims that he had the financial wherewithal to launch an ambitious music enterprise, but that the business abruptly failed in December and Lestorti has not been heard from since, the paper reported.
If Lestorti is found guilty on the bad check charges in Connecticut, he could face up to five years in prison.
