Video: Felons on payroll of well-known, local plumbing company

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SEATTLE - The KING 5 Investigators have uncovered new and troubling information about one of Western Washington's best known companies.

Last month we revealed how some Beacon customers may have overpaid for under qualified help. Beacon sent trainees to jobs instead of journeyman plumbers.

Now we've learned that Beacon Plumbing is sending felons into customer's homes, including a man who served time for a notorious killing.

Kathy Hansen says she spent $1,900 on several Beacon plumbers who couldn't find a fix for a leak in her basement ceiling. The one she remembers well is Jason Soler, who she says was yelling and angry at being called back to her house -- so much so that family members kicked him off the property.

"I'm just glad I wasn't by myself,' Hansen said. "I'm glad there were people in my house that heard this guy. He was kind of threatening in the way he acted."

Kathy Hansen was surprised by all the problems she had with Beacon. But she didn't know the full story about the man Beacon sent to her home until we played her a news story from 1999.

The story was about a death that shocked a community. A young man named Joey Levick had been beaten and left for dead by two men he had gone nightclubbing with, and one of them was Jason Soler.

Levick's badly beaten body was found in a drainage ditch by SR 509. He had lain there dying for hours as Soler and others saw him and never got help. Levick's death launched a drive for a Good Samaritan bill.

Soler pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. He now works for Beacon Plumbing and was the person sent to Hansen's home.

"I'm feeling sick to my stomach that he was in my house," Hansen said. "With me and my grandchildren. I'm just horrified."

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In a written statement, Beacon Plumbing owner Bill Cahill told KING 5: "Beacon Plumbing & Mechanical, Inc. runs criminal background checks on all new hires and periodically updates these background checks to insure their accuracy."

The KING 5 Investigators have learned he's not the only felon in a Beacon uniform who makes daily trips into the homes of unsuspecting customers. In addition to Soler's manslaughter conviction, we found Beacon plumbers with rap sheets for child rape and molestation, child luring, forgery, theft and drugs.

Beacon Plumbing refused our request for the names of all of its 85 employees. So we had to rely on employee names listed in Attorney General complaints, which are public record, and through conversations with Beacon customers.

We developed a list of 24 employees and found that seven of them -- nearly one in every three -- have felony records.

Soler previously worked for Pat's Plumbing in Federal Way, whose owner would not say if she knew of his criminal conviction when she hired him. We examined complaint records from Pat's and several other local plumbing companies and didn't find any more felons.

Some states do criminal background checks before issuing licenses to contractors who work in homes. In Texas, licensing officials say about 20 percent of those applying for plumber trainee licenses have felony records, and their agency can deny or revoke licenses.

In Washington state, contractors aren't screened at all.

"I don't think Washingtonians should accept that – no," said State senator Brian Weinstein.

Weinstein heads a legislative committee that's been trying for two years to tighten the reins on contractor licensing and enforcement. He says background checks haven't been on the table until now.

"I think people are seeing - especially with the story that you're doing on Beacon - that we really do need more regulation," he said. "I think we need to investigate it and see if we need to do more."

During our previous story, Beacon owner Bill Cahill spoke to us on camera. But not this time.

His written statement to KING 5 says: "Beacon Plumbing & Mechanical, Inc. runs criminal background checks on all new hires and periodically updates these background checks to insure their accuracy. Beacon will not hire or retain any employee who we believe represents a danger to the community."

Cahill did not explain when Beacon instituted background checks or his policy for hiring felons.

He has spoken for at least one of them in court with a letter in support of Soler last year.

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Jason Soler pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. He now works for Beacon Plumbing.

He wrote it because Soler has been out of prison since 2002, but not out of trouble.

We showed Kathy Hansen records of Soler's 2006 brush with the law where he ran down but didn't seriously injure a woman, and threatened the life of the officer who arrested him. He was also busted for using cocaine this year and remains on parole.

"I can't believe someone can hire someone like that," Kathy said. "What are they thinking? He's representing that company and he comes in and does such a rotten job. The hair on the back on my neck is standing up right now."

Even though there's no state screening of contractors, some local companies take matters into their own hands. They conduct background checks on their employees using private screening companies.

Owners and managers at several plumbing companies told us it just makes good business sense, from a liability standpoint and for putting customers at ease.