By Jon King / jking@whmi.com


Sentencing has been handed down to a builder convicted of taking money from a local man for an uncompleted home construction project.

33-year-old Robert McTavish Jr. of Northville was charged last year with one count of fraudulent use of a building contract fund. He entered a conditional no contest plea to the charge last month. Because McTavish had the right under the agreement to withdraw his plea and go to trial if jail time were ordered, the victim in the case requested he be allowed to remain free so that full restitution could be made.

Judge Geddis reluctantly agreed, ordering two years of probation conditional upon restitution being made. Geddis said her inclination was to have ordered jail time, calling his crime “morally wrong, ethically wrong” and “unconscionable.”

Approximately $125,000 was paid on Wednesday, with an additional $39,000 in dispute, pending a future restitution hearing.

McTavish was charged following an investigation that began in September of 2019 by the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office which revealed that an Iosco Township man had hired McTavish for a home construction project. The investigation indicated that McTavish withdrew the disbursements on the construction loan but failed to complete any work.