Man pleads not guilty to bilking rehab home

A Costa Mesa man pleaded not guilty Friday to stealing $35,000 from a local rehabilitation home that prosecutors said he had promised to help out by buying and restoring a classic car for the home’s raffle.

Steven John Lafata, 59, is charged with three counts of grand theft, one count of second degree commercial burglary, and felony perjury.

Prosecutors said between January and April 2007, Lafata offered to restore a 1988 Ford Mustang Cobra prototype for New Directions for Women, a nonprofit rehabilitation home in Costa Mesa.

He claimed he could buy the car for $35,000 and raffle it for between $65,000 and $75,000, prosecutors said.

Instead, Lafata bought a 1989 Ford Mustang for $8,300 and barely did any work on it, officials said.

Prosecutors said Lafata also filed with the DMV papers showing he bought the car for $750 to avoid registration fees. When the charity raffle winner went to pick up the car, he saw its poor condition and reported it to New Directions for Women, officials said.

Lafata was arrested and is being held in Orange County Jail in lieu of $36,000 bail.

To post bail, Lafata must show the money is from a legitimate source.

He faces four years and four months in jail if convicted.

— Joseph Serna