The job was too big, he said, and he trusted too many people who let him down.

In the end, though, the Allen County Building Department held Larry Lengacher responsible for a series of serious mistakes at a $5.4 million Aboite Township hotel - and rescinded his contractor's license after 47 years and building 3,000 homes in the past 44 years.

“What's troubling is, what if that building had collapsed when it was full? Common construction practices were not followed,” Board Chairman Phil Shirmeyer told Lengacher before the board's unanimous vote Thursday, which permanently bars the Woodburn resident from working as a contractor in Allen County. The decision does not apply in other counties.

Lengacher, who said he has worked on several smaller hotels without incident, asked the board to at least let him continue to build homes. “We have nine or 10 families depending on me for a living,” he said. But the board decided that even more people could be affected - and possibly endangered - by the kind of substandard construction that has brought work to a halt on the 80-room Homewood Suites by Hilton at Interstate 69 and West Jefferson Boulevard.

Lengacher's firm was the subcontractor hired to handle concrete and masonry work on the job, and structural engineer Jim McClain outlined several mistakes for the board, including failure to adequately prepare the soil, allowing parts of the building to shift; lack of steel reinforcement in places; improperly poured foundation and towers so poorly built they will have to be replaced, even if owner Superhost Hospitality chooses to salvage the shell. One of the six-story towers was built without adequate footings and wood was found under other footings - both “no-nos,” according to McClain.

“It's clear the workmanship was shoddy,” said Building Commissioner Dave Fuller, who recommended Lengacher's license be permanently revoked. Fuller estimated Lengacher's firm may have been responsible for about half the problems that forced his department to stop work on the project earlier this year - problems that will cost an estimated $2.3 million to fix. Fuller said Lengacher will be allowed to complete two small jobs now under construction.

“I'm sorry to have to appear before you. This has never happened before,” Lengacher said in a subdued voice. “I tried to do the best I know how, and I trusted a lot of people to do the job right.”

Lengacher said the Illinois-based general contractor, Condor Concepts, failed to provide the promised help - at one point allowing him to design parts of the job despite his lack of training as a structural engineer.

Condor will not be allowed to work in Allen County again, said Fuller, adding that it is rare to rescind the license of such a well-established general contractor.

The hotel's owners are expected to decide soon whether to repair and complete the work already done or tear it down and start from scratch.