Alleged Lodi con man on reality TV show

An ex-con who left local investors holding the reins on a failed horse complex in Lodi more than a decade ago resurfaced on a national reality TV show last night.

Richard Sadler was last seen in Lodi when his Central California Horsemen's Complex on South Beckman Road shut its doors in February 1993, less than six months after opening with much hoopla as a state-of-the-art riding and roping arena.

Sadler and the business disappeared overnight, leaving investors and members out hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to published reports at the time.

Now Sadler is popping up in an entirely new arena -- reality TV. The manager of the Poway-Bernardo Mortuary is one of the central characters in "Family Plots," a reality series on A&E which follows daily life in the San Diego-area mortuary.

Promotional materials for the show describe Sadler as "the boss" of the mortuary, who has to stay in the business because he lost money on the stock market in the late 1990s.

Sadler and representatives from A&E did not return calls to the News-Sentinel by late Monday.

Stockton resident Bob Jensen was surprised to see Sadler in commercials for the television show. A year before Sadler rode into Lodi promising to attract successful horse and dog shows with the Horsemen's Complex, Jensen said Sadler and a partner sold him an aviation business that did not exist.

"They never really had any aircraft. They had no operation going at all," Jensen said. "What they did have for me was a contract."

Jensen won a $25,000 settlement from Sadler in April 1992 for breach of contract and fraud. Investors in the equine complex weren't so lucky.

Richard Sadler

The 100,500-square-foot building, sitting on 26 acres at 400 S. Beckman Road, opened in November 1992 with much fanfare as a place for rodeos, horse shows and other equestrian events. The complex included indoor and outdoor arenas for roping and riding and was hailed by Sadler and fellow organizers as a potential magnet for national equestrian events.

Horse enthusiasts from across the San Joaquin Valley reportedly pumped hundreds of thousands of dollars into the project, through investments of up to $25,000 and monthly membership dues of $200 and more. The complex ran into some problems with city code enforcement a few months after opening, however, prompting an unsigned letter to the city in which the business' future was questioned.

On the morning of Feb. 4, 1993, complex workers came in to find the entire operation had been packed up and moved. Event organizers, investors and members lost thousands in cash deposits, worthless shares and paid dues for a business that no longer existed.

The property is now the home of R E Service Co. Inc.

In June 1993, the San Joaquin County District Attorney's Office decided not to pursue criminal charges against Sadler, recommending that victims file civil charges against him.

Sadler was eventually convicted of embezzlement in Contra Costa County after bilking a business partner of $100,000 during the sale of an airplane, Jensen said.

He eventually served eight months in state prison.

Working with the Poway-Bernardo Mortuary is not Sadler's first foray into the funeral business. He had his funeral director's license revoked in 1987 by what was then the California Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers after being convicted on charges of grand theft, said Kevin Flanagan, a spokesman for the state Department of Consumer Affairs.

Sadler applied for reinstatement, and received another funeral director's license in January 1999, according to state records.

He recently ran into trouble again when the state refused to renew his license -- which expired in January -- until he paid $2,002 in fines for operating an unlicensed business, Flanagan said.

"If he pays his fine, and has paid his renewal fees, it wouldn't be a problem (to renew his license)," Flanagan said.

Sadler told the North County Times last week that he'd "given his pound of flesh" and is sorry for past indiscretions.

But Jensen, who says he's tracked Sadler's movements since their run-in 13 years ago, is skeptical.

"This is a con man," Jensen said.

"He's never done a straight thing in his life."