Nevada Appeal News Service
INCLINE VILLAGE - After two-and-a-half years of court appearances and legal wrangling, the Nevada State Labor Commission is going after the personal assets of former Dot1Web President Robert DeMaio after he failed to make court-ordered payments to the commission and failed to turn over company stock to the state.
DeMaio, who would not disclose his location, claims he has no stock to turn over and does not owe the state money.
"How can I give them what I don't have?" DeMaio said in a phone interview Thursday. "The shares were all pledged a couple of years ago to secure a loan. This is all bogus. There is no judgment against Dot1Web. The state is doing this to cover up their own ineptness. They have no case against me personally."
In late 2002, DeMaio dismissed more than 100 employees from his Incline-based software company without notice. Employees' paychecks bounced and they filed a lawsuit against the company and DeMaio.
According to court documents filed Dec. 21, 2004, DeMaio agreed to pay $150,000 to the labor commission through state-appointed receiver Tom Creal of Recovermetrics LLC. The documents show DeMaio entered into an agreement with the labor commission that obligated him to make a $35,000 downpayment, followed by payments of $5,000 for the months of October, November and December 2004 and $10,000 each month thereafter until the settlement amount is paid in full.
According to court documents DeMaio defaulted on all the agreements, failing to pay any of the money.
Attorney Michael Keane of Woodburn and Wedge, attorneys for Creal in the lawsuit against DeMaio, said the state had been trying to collect from DeMaio's companies until the labor commission decided to go after DeMaio's personal assets.
Keane said he's heard DeMaio has left Incline Village and now lives in Genoa.
"A big problem has been trying to pin him down," Keane said. "We've had to go to different counties in an attempt to catch up with him. He appeared via phone at the last hearing, so there's no telling where he is now."
When the commission finally makes contact with DeMaio, he will also be required to turn over all stock certificates from his troubled companies.
According to the order, signed by Carson City District Judge William Maddox, DeMaio is required to turn over Dot1Web Inc. and Lowestbids.com Inc. stocks to be sold by the state.
DeMaio said he signed the agreement to pay the $150,000, but there were other factors involved that would eventually come out in court and he will be exonerated.
When asked about the employees who never got paid, DeMaio said that although he wants them to get the money owed them, he isn't responsible for their overdue paychecks.
"I want them to get their money, but they should ask the state where it is, or the bank that screwed it up," DeMaio said. "All I want to know is, when this is all out in the open, who's going to apologize to me?"