State Says Plumber Can't Use Dead Dad's License
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Danbury cops have charged Raymond Erhardt III, 50, of Bethel, who they say stole his dead father’s identity when he applied for a father's plumbing and heating license.
Will the real Ray Erhardt please step forward? Danbury cops have charged Raymond Erhardt III, 50, of Bethel, who they say stole his dead father’s identity when he applied for a plumbing and heating license.
Erhardt, who has been doing business as Air Crafters, LLC since 1996, is accused of renewing his deceased father's plumbing and heating license and using it to operate his business as a properly licensed company, Consumer Protection Commissioner Jerry Farrell Jr. said.
The younger Erhardt was a licensed plumber who worked with his father from the 1970s through the 1980s, the Danbury News Times reports, and eventually moved to Florida.
His father died in 1990, and when the younger Erhardt returned to Connecticut from Florida in 1991, he filed applications each year for three contractors' licenses, omitting the suffixes "III" or "Jr." from the paperwork, the News Times reports, citing an arrest warrant application.
Earlier this year, state officials were conducting a routine audit when they spotted a problem, according to the Consumer Protection Commission.
Erhardt's attorney, Anthony Yorio, told the News Times that the case "was clearly a misunderstanding on (Erhardt III's) part that goes back more than a decade."
"Occupational licensing laws are in place to ensure that any constructed space that people will occupy, whether it be their home, office or a commercial space, is built competently, correctly and in accordance with state and local laws," Farrell said. "An unlicensed contractor puts public health and safety in jeopardy."
State law mandates that contractors be properly licensed to complete the scope of work as required by their trade. Erhardt has been charged with forgery and identity theft and is scheduled to face charges Tuesday in Danbury Superior Court.
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