Dale Cardwell: You can never be too careful - Cherokee Tribune

A couple of months ago, I told you about a problem I attempted to mediate between a couple and their mover. Tom and Debbie Jankowski hired one of the region?s largest and best-known companies to help them move from Atlanta to Marietta. In the process, $20,000 worth of Debbie?s heirloom jewelry went missing. The Jankowskis called the moving company?s owner, who they say denied his employees were involved. So the couple called Cobb County Police Department, who came to an different conclusion. Today, one of Bulldog Movers? employees sits in the Cobb County Jail, charged with theft. As a consumer investigator, I wanted to give Bulldog Movers and its owner, Erik Christensen the benefit of the doubt. I hoped it was simply one of those rare instances where a decent person did a bad thing and the company would acknowledge it and make it right.

The Jankowskis? request seemed fair enough: They got their jewelry back, but didn?t want to have to pay Bulldog the hourly rate charged for the employee who is now charged with stealing from them. They also wanted the company to pay for repairs to their furniture that Bulldog?s owner told me his company was responsible for. The Jankowskis requested the compensation to ?make it right? ? and the request was for $1,000. Bulldog?s owner agreed to the deal, if ? according to the Jankowskis? attorney, Jim Friedewald ? if they agreed to ?retract? the allegation. The Jankowskis told me they were completely willing to remove any negative public posting they?d made, but their attorney advised them they shouldn?t ?retract? their theft allegation because it would then make their previous statement to Cobb police appear to be untrue. A little complicated, but it makes sense. Bulldog disagreed, and the Jankowskis said Bulldog withdrew the offer last Friday.

This impasse disturbed me greatly. I couldn?t believe this company would risk its reputation over such a simple opportunity to ?make it right,? so this investigative reporter started digging. Hold on to your seat, because you?ll be amazed by what I uncovered: The man charged in relation to the Jankowski case is John Willie Johnson. Cobb County Jail records show he has worked for Bulldog Movers since 1995. During the past 20 years, Johnson has been charged with 24 crimes in Cobb County alone. Many of those charges led to felony convictions. According to the Georgia Department of Corrections, Johnson has spent years in and out of prison for such crimes as aggravated battery, possession and distribution of cocaine; and get this ? theft by taking. How could Bulldog Movers employ such a person and much less, send him in to the homes of defenseless and unsuspecting customers? I wanted to know, so I contacted Bulldog Movers? owner and the company?s attorney. Instead of receiving a denial, much less an explanation, I was told the issue was a private matter between Bulldog Movers and the Jankowskis.

Excuse me, but I don?t think that when a company sends a felon ? someone convicted of a violent offense and many other crimes ? into customers? homes is a private matter. And here?s the most frightening part: My staff and I called Bulldog Movers many times, asking them whether they perform criminal background checks on their movers. Every time we asked, we were told emphatically that they do. With John Willie Johnson?s extensive record, one must wonder if convictions are a prerequisite for employment as opposed to a barrier. So allow me to repeat; just because a company claims something to be true, such as criminal background checks ? you can?t be too careful.

Watch TrustDale TV at 11:30 a.m. Saturdays and Sundays on Fox 5; and listen to Dale?s advice at 3 p.m. Sundays on WGST Radio. You can reach Dale at Help@TrustDale.com.

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