CROWN POINT | A Lynwood contractor has pleaded guilty to theft charges for not completing repair projects in Munster and Schererville.

Stephen Trembczynski, 51, was first charged with multiple felony counts of theft and home improvement fraud in March 2009 for not finishing repairs to several homes damaged by the floods in Munster.

Similar charges surfaced the following May when Trembczynski failed to complete a roofed deck contracted by a Schererville woman.

At the time of the incidents, Trembczynski was doing business as a licensed general contractor under the name of SMT Construction.

Trembczynski was due to go to trial Monday, but prosecutors instead submitted a plea agreement to the court.

Under the plea agreement, Trembczynski admitted to accepting partial or full payment for his services, then failing to complete the work forcing some homeowners to incur additional costs.

Victims claimed a total of $22,497 owed to them by Trembczynski.

The Munster flood victims told authorities of receiving notices of liens on their homes because of the nonpayment for work, charging affidavits show.

In the plea agreement, Trembczynski agrees to serve concurrent three-year prison sentences on each theft count and to pay restitution as ordered by the court at sentencing Feb. 22.

If approved by the court, Trembczynski will serve his jail time after completing an eight-year sentence imposed by a Cook County, Ill., court in Feb. 4, 2009, for selling a stolen car.