NORWICH – A Coventry contractor was sentenced to prison Friday after admitting he stole thousands from home improvement projects and then jumped bail while being prosecuted for the crimes.

Joseph N. Wright, 37, of Greene, had pleaded guilty to third degree grand larceny, second degree forgery and second degree bail jumping, all felonies, and was sentenced to four to 12 years in state prison Friday by acting Chenango County Supreme Court Justice Donald Cerio.

“Mr. Wright was one of our local contractors who was in the habit of going to elderly people and taking substantial sums for their money without doing the work,” said District Attorney Joseph McBride.

The DA said two of the victims were 70 and 93 years old. McBride said another victim in the case still had their home exposed to the elements because they couldn’t afford to pay another contractor to complete the work.

“The defendant just didn’t rip-off the cash, the victims were left out of pocket and couldn’t afford to hire another contractor to complete work on their homes,” said McBride.

One of the charges Wright pleaded guilty to was a 1995 forgery charge in which he admitted to signing an ex-girlfriend’s personal check so he could buy a $175 puppy.

After failing to appear for court, an arrest warrant was issued and lingered over Wright for 14 years, until he was arrested in February of 2009 on unrelated charges.