The Unsellables Anthony Sayers .HGTV
All charges have been dropped against a contractor and television personality who was accused last month of trying to defraud a client.
Barrington (Anthony) Sayers, 41, says police went forward with charges without conducting a complete investigation and further damaged his reputation by putting out a press release with his mugshot and saying they believed there were other victims when they had no reason to believe this.
"The most outrageous thing is that they said, 'We believe there may be more victims,' " said Mr. Sayers's lawyer, Brian Shiller. "They make it seem like he's a serial extortionist."
The fix-it man, who runs his own contracting company and also co-hosts the HDTV show The Unsellables, was hired by Summerhill resident Doreen Boulos to fix damage done to her house by previous renovators, according to a document filed by Mr. Shiller.
Mr. Shiller has filed a notice of intent to sue Toronto police for libeling his client. Constable Tony Vella said police had received a copy of the notice: "We will definitely be defending ourselves."
Mr. Sayers maintains he did about 20 hours worth of work on the home and two repairmen he hired completed about 80 hours, but that Ms. Boulos had a problem with the invoice and refused to pay. Over the next few weeks, he alleges, he called her and visited her home to get the money, but she refused to call him back or speak with him. Then, she called police.
When Mr. Sayers was charged, police issued a press release and photo of him, which he maintains in his suit was libellous, suggesting he "harassed" and "extorted" Ms. Boulos.
"My name was splashed all over the news across North America. They said I am a criminal. I am not a criminal," he said in a statement Wednesday. "I was everyone to know I am innocent. While there have been many sleepless nights, I am thankful that the justice system in this country worked and that my innocence was confirmed for all to see."
Toronto Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Adrian Morrow