Jul 21, 2016 By Suzanne Elliott 3 min read

Charges against a Peters Township man accused of taking nearly $300,000 from an 88-year-old Bethel Park woman during a two-year period were waived Thursday during a preliminary hearing before District Judge Ronald Arnoni.

William Joseph Kail, 45, of 549 McCombs Road, Venetia, will be formally arraigned 11 a.m. Sept. 7 in Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas on one count of dealing in proceeds of illegal activity, one count of home improvement fraud, two counts of theft by unlawful taking, two counts of receiving stolen property, one count of access device fraud, one count of deceptive or fraudulent business practices, and one count of unauthorized use of automobiles, according to a criminal complaint.

Kail, a contractor, was hired by the woman in 2014 to shovel snow from her driveway and steps. A year later, the woman hired Kail to build a vestibule on the front of her house and repair the concrete stairs leading to the vestibule, and she paid Kail in cash, according to court records.

Once the vestibule was completed, Kail brought his wife, Stacey Kail, to the woman’s home, and Stacey Kail began to bring her children on visits to the woman, the complaint states. At the same time, Kail, at his request, offered to help the woman with her financial responsibilities. According to records, she believed Kail wrote checks and paid her bills and did not monitor her checking account because she trusted him and developed a liking for his his family.

Court documents show Kail then offered to do work at the home of the woman’s deceased son, and she gave Kail her debit card, which he had asked for to buy materials. The woman asked Kail for her card, but hedid not return it and claimed he did not use it, according to records.

Time went by, and the woman eventually forgot. The complaint states that from April 2015 to Jaunary 2016, $78,608 was made in ATM withdrawals.

Kail told the woman he was going to lose his home to foreclosure, according to the complaint, which states that the woman lent Kail “8,000 to $10,000” from a State Farm insurance policy she bought for her late son. The woman said she wanted to pass the money to her granddaughter, but Kail said he would pay her back once he sold a second home he owned in Peters Township, court records show.

The woman agreed to sell her 2006 Cadillac SRX to Kail, at his request, for fair market value, and Kail and his wife used the car for one year before it stopped running, with no payments ever made, according to the complaint. Also at Kail’s request, the woman showed him her jewelry collection, but she said she did not give Kail any pieces. Investigators, though, found Kail had pawned some of the woman’s jewelry in December and collected more than $1,000, according to court records.

Investigators said they found four checks from the woman’s State Farm account made out to Kail totalling $114,700. They also found five checks to Kail drawn from the woman’s PNC account totalling $16,948 and 12 PNC checks made out to cash totalling $6,800, the complaint states.

Kail remains free on $50,000 bond.