A former Hamilton mayor has been caught up in a legal wrangle after the firm he hired to build a house ran into financial difficulties.

William Boyle, Mayor of Hamilton until last year, hired Botelho Construction to build a house on his property on Harbour Road last year.

But a sub contractor hired to carry out electrical work on the house is now suing the company for nearly $100,000 because he claims he has not been paid.

Electrician Henry Chandler claims he worked on the building for more than six months up until the end of last year.

And he took on two more staff to help him complete the job, paying them $14,000.

Mr. Chandler said he took the job on to take his mind off his wife's death.

"She had just passed away and that's why I took the job on,'' he said.

"I was down at the house seven days a week because it kind of helped me.

"The house had already been started and all the tubing was in place so I quit the job. Then the people living in the house, Mr. and Mrs. Herrero, phoned me and asked me to finish the job and not to worry about the money.

"They said they would pay me and entered into a verbal agreement with me but when I showed them the bill they said they weren't going to pay anything.'' Mr. Boyle confirmed he had commissioned the building of the house but denied that he owed Mr. Chandler any money.

"It's my house but Mr. Chandler has an argument with the contractor who's run into difficulties I understand,'' he said.

"As far as I know Mr. Herrero has settled with Mr. Chandler but he still has an argument with Mr. Botelho.

"He stopped working on the house some time ago. I understand he has had trouble paying his sub contractors.

"We have had a lot of problems with the house. It's behind schedule and has cost us a lot more than we expected.

"But it is now nearly ready for occupancy.'' A writ for $97,000 has now been served on Botelho Construction.

Mr. Chandler's lawyer, Graham Coxall refused to comment on the case.

But he did confirm that a writ had been served against Jose Botelho, the director of the company. And he dismissed speculation that Mr. Boyle was responsible for paying Mr. Chandler's wages.