Former Quincy business owners facing theft charges arrested in Florida; due in Adams County court Oct. 17

QUINCY — A husband and wife who formerly owned a Quincy business and now face two theft charges recently were arrested in Florida and must return to Adams County for a court date later this month. 

Andy P. Reardon, 58, and Michelle M. Reardon, 52, of 1096 Florian Way in Spring Hill, Fla., were arrested and booked in the early-morning hours of Sept. 27 by the Hernando County Sheriff’s Department in Brooksville, Fla., on an Illinois warrant. Both were released the following day, and both posted $1,000 bond on Oct. 4.

Andy Reardon signed on Sept. 28 a waiver of extradition to Illinois and has consented to returning to Illinois to appear Oct. 17 in Adams County Circuit Court before Judge Tad Brenner. No record of a similar waiver signed by Michelle Reardon was available from the Hernando County Sheriff’s Department.

An Adams County grand jury indicted the Reardons on Sept. 7 on a charge of theft of more than $10,000 (but less than $100,000), and a charge of theft of more than $500 (but less than $10,000). Each count said the Reardons “knowing obtained by deception control” over property — of owner Melissa Drew on or about Nov. 22, 2021, in the first count and owner Stephen and Debra Kraus on or about Dec. 1, 2021, in the second count. 

In simpler terms, Assistant State’s Attorney Laura Keck said the Reardons took the money of Drew and Krauses and deceived them of what they were supposed to get.

Theft of more than $10,000 is a Class 2 felony, punishable for between three and seven years in the Illinois Department of Corrections. Theft of more than $500 is a Class 3 felony, punishable for between two and five years in prison.

The Reardons owned Backyard Adventures Pools and Spas, 1800 Broadway, in Quincy. A Dec. 8, 2021, story in Muddy River News detailed multiple complaints filed by dissatisfied customers against the business for shoddy work for the installation of pools and spas.

The Better Business Bureau of Eastern and Southwest Missouri and Southern Illinois, which has an office in Quincy, lowered its rating for Backyard Adventures to an “F,” the lowest on BBB’s scale, because of recent unresolved complaints. Consumer complaints to BBB reported inferior workmanship, failure to contact customers and poor customer service.

“We applaud by the Adams County State’s Attorney’s Office for helping consumers,” Don O’Brien, regional director of the Quincy Better Business Bureau, said in a prepared statement. “Hopefully this is the first step toward helping make whole consumers who lost money to this company.”

A document filed Aug. 14 in Adams County shows a default judgment against the Reardons from Central State Bank of Pleasant Hill worth $60,153.68. The Reardons also lost a similar case in Adams County on Feb. 27 when Watkins Manufacturing Corporation, a hot tub and spa manufacturer, was awarded a $51,538.36 judgment.