Joseph Esposito Jr. age 53, of Redding, was arrested on Tuesday, Feb. 15 by Westport Police and charged with larceny.
According to Lieutenant David Wolf, of the Westport Police, Esposito was arrested after the department received a complaint that he had taken $13,000 in November 2021 from a Westport resident to buy and plant trees.
The work was never performed and despite multiple requests, the deposit was not returned to the complainant, Wolf said.
When interviewed by police, Esposito said that his intention was to honor the contract and that he did take the $13,000 to enable him to purchase the trees from the nursery.
However, Esposito could not provide a receipt showing he did in fact buy the trees, Wolf said.
Following his arrest, he was released on a promise to appear ticket.
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