BK Contractor Spent Clients' $700K On Designer Shopping Spree: DA

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK — A contractor charged a Midwood couple $700,000 for massive home renovations he never did then spent the cash on lavish meals at the Russian Tea Room and Oscar de la Renta shopping sprees, according to the Brooklyn District Attorney's office.

Steven Crystal, 45, was charged with grand larceny and forgery in Brooklyn Criminal Court Tuesday for promising to add a tower, elevator and enclosed balcony with its own retractable roof to a two-story home, prosecutors said.

Crystal, owner of House Doctor LLC in Midwood, was hired in December 2012 to do minor repairs on the couple's home but soon sold them on bigger projects for which he charged large sums of money, according to prosecutors.

Those projects included building a six-story tower with its own elevator, the private balcony and transforming the basement into a private medical office, prosecutors said.

The Midwood couple wrote more than 300 checks for environmental reviews, architectural designs, construction permits and more over the course of five years, said prosecutors.

And they received emails that appeared to come from government officials which prosecutors said were forged by Crystal.

Instead of getting to work on the proposed palace, Crystal spent more than $38,000 at luxury stores — Coach, Diane von Fustenburg, Oscar de la Renta and Burberry, to name a few — as well as $6,000 on flights and dinners at Tao, the Russian Tea Room and other restaurants, prosecutors said.

Crystal allegedly spent just $9,000 on building materials and cosmetic repairs to the couple's Brooklyn home, said prosecutors.

Crystal was arraigned on a 55-count indictment, which includes grand larceny and forgery charges, in Brooklyn Criminal Court Tuesday, said prosecutors.

Bail was set at $50,000 and the Brooklyn contractor was ordered to return to court on Oct. 29, prosecutors said.