I hired a general contractor to renovate my house. I give him a great amount of money and he has not done all the work. I found out he has ordered material but never paid for it or paid with a check that the account is closed. I asked him for my money back, he agreed and wrote me a personal check of 10,000 with a closed bank account. He fooled everyone telling them a different story. His workers were never paid and no one is working in my house. I have all receipts, the contract says he should be done with the house by October 5, 06. I am 95% sure this guy is not going to finish the job, because he told me he used the money I give him for other debt owed.

Here is my questions:

Is there anything I can do to speed up the process to arrest him or take him to court?

Possibly. Call your local prosecutors office to see what they can do for you. If they view it as criminal, they can prosecute the guy "for" you. If they can't they'll probably help you with what options are available to you... one of which would be to get an attorney and sue the contractor.

... just my thoughts as a consumer. I'm not a legal expert.

Excellent Idea RickJ. I will give them a call today and try to have an answer for everyone soon.