Rapper-landscaper accused of bilking $50,000 from customers
COEUR d’ALENE — The case of a Coeur d’Alene landscaper and part-time rapper who faces more than 20 years in prison for allegedly ripping off customers may be reset if mediation between the defendant and his clients fails to bring results.
Anton R. Hale found himself between a rock and hard place last year after three disgruntled clients reported dirty dealings between Hale, the owner of Northern Nature Landscape and Design.
Hale was subsequently charged with 12 counts of grand theft - each count carries a sentence of between one and 20 years in prison.
Hale has not yet had a probable cause hearing, and he has not submitted a plea in the case.
Instead, Coeur d’Alene Senior Judge Robert Burton ordered mediation which is ongoing.
According to a sheriff’s office report, Hale, 32, is accused of entering into contracts with a dozen area homeowners since opening his business two years ago across from the Kootenai County Fairgrounds on Government Way.
After perusing business records, Kootenai County detectives found Hale had received payment of more than $50,000 in 2015 from former clients for work that homeowners said had not been completed.
Sheriff’s Detective Ronda Bobier followed the paper trail that included checks deposited into Hale’s account ranging from $1,500 to $13,500 for retaining walls, fountains, fire pits and landscaping allegedly not completed. A Coeur d’Alene property owner told Bobier, according to a sheriff’s office report, that Hale was hired to plant trees and landscape his Huntsman Road property, but trees that were delivered were never planted.
“The trees were dropped off at the end of his driveway,” according to Bobier’s report. After several days, the property owner contacted Hale, “to ask when the trees were going to be planted, as they were dying despite him watering them daily.”
Hale didn’t respond to messages and did not return to plant the trees, according to the detective’s report.
In another case, an Athol property owner allegedly paid Hale $6,000 for a water feature that needed to be done in three months, in time for his daughter’s wedding, but the work was not completed. Another property owner told detectives that Hale told her his business was having troubles, and offered to sell it to her, then directed her to his rap videos including one called “Idaho Bang.”
“In one of Hale’s music videos he is pointing several guns ... (the property owner) is fearful of Hale and was hesitant to report anything.”
Other property owners also said Hale threatened them, but many did not contact authorities, opting instead to eat their losses.
Hale was arrested in December and held in the Kootenai County Jail on a $50,000 bond. He was released the same day after paying a 5 percent surety bond. His next hearing has not been set.
Hale’s “Idaho Bang” video is published on YouTube and can be viewed below.