By Bryan Corliss
Herald Writer
A construction contractor under investigation by Snohomish County authorities says he was the victim of misunderstandings and miscommunication.
"The fiasco’s due to the response," said Robert Miller, the owner of Mallard Construction. "We thought we’d get 100 to 150 (applications) a week, not that many in an hour. One person can’t respond to 2,500 people in the fashion that they want to be responded to."
But his failure to respond to applicants has caused concern among some of those who paid Miller $45 for drug tests so they could qualify for the construction jobs he’d promised.
The jobs were to pay between $26.67 and $47.37 a week and would be guaranteed for three years, Miller promised in classified newspaper advertisements.
Those who attended meetings about the jobs say he told them they’d be working on projects at naval bases around Puget Sound, including Naval Station Everett and Whidbey Island Naval Air Station.
"It was just so nice," said David Shaw, a builder from Sultan who attended a meeting Sunday in Arlington. "It was unbelievable."
Shaw says it sounded too good to be true, so he walked away.
He and others said they contacted police to air their suspicions after the Sunday meetings. Other callers to The Herald say they called police on Wednesday, the day they were supposed to get calls from Mallard Construction instructing them when and were to go for the drug screening. The calls never came.
Miller maintains he is a legitimate businessman trying to recruit workers to fill jobs other contractors may have.
Miller has a state business license for Mallard Construction, state records show. It’s registered as a partnership with Randal Miller of Hoquiam. Miller said that’s his brother, who is no longer with the business.
Miller does not have a valid contractor’s license, however. State officials pulled the license in September after former customers posted three separate claims for a total of $13,000 against his $6,000 contractor’s bond, said Bill Ripple, a spokesman for the Department of Labor and Industries, which issues the licenses.
However, "If he’s just referring these folks out to the jobs … he would not be required to be registered," Ripple said. "If the contract is with him, we need to talk to him."
Miller said he’s working under arrangements with contractors who do hold contracts with various public agencies, including the Navy. He’s not doing the work himself, but rather providing workers to contractors unable to find people with specific skills.
He said he could not provide a list of the contractors he is working with because that would violate the terms of his agreements with them.
Miller said Friday he has explained the situation to Snohomish County sheriff’s officers.
He’s also continuing to return calls to applicants, he said, and hopes to complete that by Wednesday.
"This fiasco has caused delays," Miller said.
Sheriff’s spokeswoman Jan Jorgensen said Friday a detective has been assigned to look into Mallard’s operations, but the department wouldn’t comment further until the investigation is finished.
You can call Herald Writer Bryan Corliss at 425-339-3454
or send e-mail to corliss@heraldnet.com.
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