LARGO -- Andrew David Strong's freedom is now in the hands of a judge. 

The president of Highmark Homes and builder of the Virginia Crossing subdivision, pleaded guilty Monday to 18 felony charges of making false statements to residents of the beleaguered development. 

Strong will be sentenced by Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Phil Federico on April 25. 

The plea is an open one, which means Strong has received no guarantee from the judge or prosecutors about his sentence. The only promise Federico has made is to cap the maximum potential penalty to five years in prison. 

The judge has said he thinks the 90 years in prison the Dunedin developer otherwise faced was inappropriate. 

Not everyone agrees with the five-year maximum. 

"I think it's too light," said Harold Burnett, one of two subdivision residents who witnessed the plea. "I would have thought one year of prison for each of the charges would have been more appropriate." 

Strong's lawyer told the judge that the developer's plea was "guilty in his best interest." 

Such a plea is legally identical to a guilty plea. But defendants usually invoke such a plea because they want to maintain innocence but know going to trial and fighting charges may lead to a more severe penalty. 

Strong, 40, declined comment as he left the courtroom, free on bail until sentencing. 

Prosecutor Gary White said he would seek a prison sentence for the developer, who is accused of leaving dozens of residents on the hook for tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid contractor bills and bank liens. 

The judge indicated during the brief plea hearing that he expected Strong's attorney, Alexander Truluck, to seek probation and ask that a formal finding of guilt be withheld. 

Two things in Strong's favor are the fact that he has no prior criminal record and, according to Truluck, has begun paying the $164,000 in restitution he owes. 

At the same time, an angry crowd of Virginia Crossing residents also are expected to attend his sentencing and demand a prison term. Federico hasn't indicated whether he favors imprisonment. 

Truluck has previously said that Strong wasn't a thief who took money and then fled town. Instead, he said, Strong was a businessman who was in over his head. 

Virginia Crossing residents and prosecutors say Strong lied to home buyers and subcontractors about finishing construction and infrastructure work at Virginia Crossing. 

Strong's arrest in March 2002 came after more than 50 complaints to the county's Consumer Protection Department in March. 

Complaints included allegations about thousands of dollars in flooring, masonry and drainage work left undone at Virginia Crossing, a complex of 120 villa homes north of Virginia Street and west of Keene Road. Construction on the subdivision started in 1999, and home prices ranged from $172,000 to $203,000. 

Perhaps the biggest disappointment, residents said, was the incomplete clubhouse they later finished themselves, chipping in $1,000 each. 

LARGO -- The builder of the Virginia Crossing subdivision in Dunedin came to court on Friday planning to plead guilty to leaving residents on the hook for tens of thousands in unpaid contractor bills and bank liens. 

In the end, Andrew David Strong, 40, president of Highmark Homes, delayed a plea to 18 felony charges of making false statements. 

Attorney Alexander Truluck told a judge he expected his client to plead guilty on Feb. 24 and risk a possible prison term. Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Phil Federico talked about possibly capping any potential sentence at five years, though Strong could get far less. 

"I'm telling the court right now that there's going to be a plea," Truluck said. 

Truluck said his client already had raised $100,000 toward $164,000 in restitution and might soon be able to pay back everything. 

"You're in a lot better position if everybody is made whole," the judge said. 

Under state sentencing guidelines, Strong also could be sentenced to probation because he has no prior criminal record. 

The court hearing came the day after Strong's father, Bernard Strong, 72, was arrested and charged with eight counts of failing to place into escrow $123,000 in deposit money on homes his son was building. 

The son's expected plea first came untracked when Truluck indicated that prosecutor Gary White planned to file additional charges, including racketeering charges, against Andrew Strong as part of a continuing investigation. 

After White said he was not investigating any additional crime and did not anticipate more charges, a plea was then stopped when Federico balked. 

The judge was concerned that Strong was about to plead guilty without any guarantee from the court or prosecutors about the maximum sentence he faced. Each of the 18 felonies carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison, which meant Strong's potential sentence stood at up to 90 years. 

The judge said Strong should plead guilty only knowing his maximum exposure. The 90 years, Federico said, appeared an inappropriate maximum penalty. 

Federico suggested five years might be right, and the hearing was continued. If a deal can't be reached, the judge said he would quickly set the case for trial. 

Prosecutors want a prison term. They say Strong used money from customers to finance a high lifestyle and to pay family members exorbitant salaries. 

"The state feels because of the severity of this crime that Mr. Strong needs to find out to some extent what the inside of a jail cell looks like," White said. 

Truluck, however, said his client isn't a thief in the traditional sense. Instead, he portrayed Strong as a businessman in over his head. 

"This was not an attempt to take money and leave with it," the attorney said. 

Strong, through his attorney, declined to comment after the hearing. He is free on bail. 

Virginia Crossing residents and prosecutors allege Strong lied to home buyers and subcontractors about finishing construction and infrastructure work at Virginia Crossing. 

Strong's arrest in March 2002 came after more than 50 complaints began rolling into the county's Consumer Protection Department in March. 

Complaints included allegations about thousands of dollars in unfinished flooring, masonry and drainage work left undone at Virginia Crossing, a complex of 120 villa homes north of Virginia Street and west of Keene Road. Construction on the subdivision started in 1999, and home prices ranged from $172,000 to $203,000. 

Perhaps the biggest disappointment, residents said, was the incomplete clubhouse they later finished themselves, chipping in $1,000 each. 

Residents John and Alice Barnfield, natives of Indiana, came to court on Friday expecting a plea and left disappointed that Strong was still unpunished. 

"It's sad that a state should have the reputation of having so many unreputable builders," said John Barnfield, who said he and his wife lost more than $8,000. "Maybe we'll go back to Indiana." 

Bernard Strong, the father of troubled Dunedin developer Andrew Strong, was arrested early Thursday morning and charged with eight counts of failing to place $123,000 in deposit money -- on homes his son was building -- in escrow. 

The 72-year-old was picked up at his Clearwater home at 2730 Westchester Drive N about 4 a.m. and was taken to the Pinellas County Jail, where he remained that evening in lieu of a $100,000 bond. 

Strong's arrest came as a result of an investigation into eight complaints from prospective home buyers by the Pinellas County Department of Consumer Protection. 

They allege that they paid Highmark Homes -- specifically Bernard Strong -- deposits on homes that were to be built inside the Virginia Crossing subdivision. 

Virginia Crossing is made up of 120 single-family homes and villas just west of Keene Road, off Virginia Street. Homes there range from $172,000 to $203,000. 

When it became clear that the homes would not be finished according to the terms of the contracts, buyers like Karl Rettstatt asked for their deposits back. 

They got nothing. 

Instead, according to court documents, Bernard Strong wrote letters stating that deposits would be refunded after the properties were sold to other purchasers. 

"We were disgusted and feel like we've been taken," said Rettstatt, who has yet to get back his $25,000 deposit. "I trusted a guy who appeared to be on the up and up and it turned out that he wasn't." 

Unless waived in writing, Florida law gives purchasers of one-family or two-family residential units the rights to have deposits -- up to 10 percent of the purchase price -- placed in an escrow account. 

Consumer Protection investigators say instead of placing the deposits in escrow accounts, Bernard Strong deposited the money in his son's business account. 

"In these situations these rights were not waived," said Keith Parks, who supervises the criminal investigation section of the Consumer Protection department. "He failed to deposit those monies into an escrow account. He just deposited it in Highmark Homes' business checking account, and those are all third-degree felonies." 

Highmark's troubles began about three years ago when Andrew Strong said his company's operating budget was wiped out by a $600,000 "accounting error." 

Without the money, the younger Strong said he would have difficulty completing work required by the city. 

In 2001, Bernard Strong volunteered to step in and help resolve his son's troubles by taking over Highmark's day-to-day operation. 

At the time, the subdivision's infrastructure was incomplete. To make sure the development was completed, the city refused to allow some residents to move into their new homes until Highmark finished $35,000 in work cleaning storm drains, replacing driveways and repairing roads. 

Eventually the work was completed, but it was too late. 

More than 50 people had filed complaints with Consumer Protection alleging Andrew Strong had left them on the hook with tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid subcontractor bills. 

Andrew Strong was arrested in February of 2002 and charged with 18 counts of making false statements. 

A pretrial hearing on his case is scheduled for 10 a.m. today. 

"We'd like to see both these individuals cease doing this type of business," said Parks. "Hopefully the judge will see to it to forbid them from engaging in contracting of any type."