Jason Retterath is the youngest son of Steven Retterath. According to James Robertson’s testimony, Jason was serving as a mechanic at General Crane when Robertson arrived at the company in 1986. Eventually he moved up to the position of vice president and field manager, supervising the “field ops” – the erection and dismantlement of cranes, supervised lifts and equipment maintenance .

In 2002, Retterath and his business partner, James Robertson, established their own crane company, Gulfstream Crane, LLC (aka General Crane USA) which purchased the most of the assets of his father’s company, General Crane, Inc.

Retterath also acquired ownership interests in two other entities, Palm Beach Trucking, LLC (aka Merchant Transport) and Royal Crane, LLC (aka Hunter Crane).

Retterath and Robertson also set up a company called Republic Enterprises, LLC, which owns the General Crane USA yard in Fairburn, GA as well as a mobile home lot in Pompano Beach, FL.

Additionally, Jason Retterath has an ownership stake in Republic Tower & Hoist, LLC, as does his father, Steven, and his business partner Robertson.

In November 2009 Wells Fargo Equipment Finances, Inc. sued General Crane USA for allegedly defaulting on loans payments worth nearly $12 million. Wells Fargo named Jason Retterath personally responsible for nearly $12 million. Wells Fargo is still pursuing this case in Broward county court.

One month later Gulfstream Crane (aka General Crane USA) filed for bankruptcy in the US District Court, Southern District of Florida. As of April 5, 2010, various General Crane creditors have made claims totaling $132,259,887.13. Cranewatchdog.com has reported extensively on the General Crane bankruptcy proceedings. Visit the General Crane USA Bankruptcy page for more.

In March and April 2010, Republic Tower & Hoist was sued by De Lage Landen Financial Services and Comerica Leasing for $2 million and $3.3 million respectively. Both lenders claim that Republic failed to make debt payments: De Lage Landen claimed Republic had not made a payment since November 1, 2009, and Comerica alleges it had not received payments since April 2009.