House painter arrested for theft after not painting Nebraska home

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    Omaha, Nebraska (WOWT ) — A Gretna homeowner dreams of a new look for her house and paid thousands of dollars to make it all come true, but instead, she got excuses.

After paying a house painter $3,000 in September, Shawn Weyh claims she’s been getting the brush off.

“At least 60 text messages corresponding back and forth with him and him continuing to make promises he was going to get my job done last year, not in the spring,” said Weyh.

A short swatch color sample is all that’s been painted on her house by Rich Griger.

Part of the $3,000 Shawn paid down to the painter was to turn her red brick into white and she says that’s an appropriate color because it fits her attempts to reach him.

“Times he said he would be here, and he would go ghost,” said Weyh.

But today painter Rich Griger appeared on the booking page of the Sarpy County Jail. He’s arrested for felony theft by deception after Shawn documented several weeks since September 17th that he could have painted her house.

Before paying $3,000 or 75 percent down, Shawn got a text from Rich Griger Painting stating we will knock off 200 dollars if paid in cash.

Jim Hegarty, with the Better Business Bureau said, “It’s not advisable for homeowners when they are dealing with contractors to pay in cash. You want some form of documentation related to your payment, and if you don’t pay by credit card or check that’s going to be challenging.”

Because a relative knew the house painter Shawn trusted his business practices that she sees now are a gray area.

“Never not sign a contract, never give someone cash before my project is completed. I think that’s crazy.”

Days before his arrest house painter Griger said inconsistent wind and weather the last four months didn’t give him the time needed to do the job right. He operates a family business and his daughter tells 6 News that most customers pay half down in cash. They say the customer was first on the list for painting this spring. Griger had a bond hearing scheduled for Thursday morning.

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