SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) An arrest warrant has been issued for a homebuilder who did not appear in court in Santa Fe to face charges of embezzlement and fraud. William Kalinowski had filed a waiver to not appear at an arraignment scheduled Monday in state District Court. However, Judge Stephen Pfeffer refused to accept the waiver and issued a bench warrant for Kalinowski.
Kalinowski left Santa Fe in 2008 owing millions of dollars to investors, subcontractors and banks and with about a dozen homes unfinished. A grand jury indicted Kalinowski in September, and he faces seven counts of embezzlement and three of fraud.
Kalinowski has claimed in the past that he didn't intend to defraud anyone and was simply a victim of the tanking real estate market.
