Father: 'I can't help but feel that he's involved'

Ed Smart tells Ricci: "I don't want to believe it's you."

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (CNN) -- The father of missing 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart said Friday he believes a former handyman was involved in his daughter's disappearance and urged him to tell authorities all he knows.

"I can't help but feel that he's involved, after all of the things that have come forward," Ed Smart told reporters a day after authorities charged Richard Ricci with stealing from the Smart home a year ago.

Police say Ricci is a focus of their investigation, but they have not named him a suspect. A lawyer for Ricci, 48, said Thursday his client would like to send "his sincerest apologies" to the Smart family and wishes for her safe return.

"If he has any feeling, I'd like him to come forward, clear himself," Smart told reporters.

CNN NewsPass VIDEO CNN's Brian Cabell reports on Ed Smart's plea to Richard Ricci to come clean about any information on the abduction of his daughter Elizabeth (July 12) Play video   RESOURCES Read the charges against Richard Ricci:  • Smart residence (Utah v. Ricci)  • Adams residence (Utah v. Ricci)  FindLaw documents; PDF format    EXTRA INFORMATION Images of Elizabeth Smart  • Missing children facts     Suspect description White male 30 to 40 years old 5 feet 8 inches tall to 5 feet 10 Medium build Dark hair Dark hair on arms and backs of hands Source: Salt Lake City police Elizabeth Smart information Web site: ElizabethSmart.com Tip lines: 800-932-0190 or 801-799-3000

In particular, Smart urged Ricci to divulge where Ricci's Jeep was around the time the girl was abducted more than a month ago. Repair shop owner Neth Moul has said Ricci took his Jeep out of the shop May 30 and returned it June 8, with "500 to 1,000" more miles on the odometer.

Ricci denies that he took the Jeep, but Moul said there is "no doubt" it was Ricci.

"Richard has not been forthcoming in answering where the car was, what the car was doing away from the shop," Smart said.

Smart said he had gone "the extra mile" when he sold Ricci the vehicle, allowing him to pay it off while Ricci worked for Smart at $8 per hour over seven or eight weeks. But Smart ended the relationship a year ago when he discovered that money, jewelry and other items had been taken from the family's home.

After the theft, "Richard came to me, face to face. He said, 'Ed, I want you to know that I did not take it,' " Smart said.

"I said, 'Richard, I appreciate that, but I want you to know that I can't have anyone in my home right now, that with this violation and not knowing who took the items, I just can't have you back in my home."

The two men parted "on very good terms, so to speak, relative to the situation," Smart said.

Authorities filed charges Thursday against Ricci -- who is being held in the Utah State Prison on parole violation allegations -- alleging he stole items worth an estimated $3,500 from the Smart's home.

One of the theft counts relates to items Ricci allegedly stole from the Smart home on or about June 6, 2001 -- nearly one year to the date before Elizabeth disappeared.

The items taken were worth an estimated $3,500 and included jewelry, a bottle of perfume and a wine glass filled with seashells, according to court documents.

Ricci, who has a 29-year criminal record, is to be brought before a court Friday or Monday to hear the charges. He is charged under the state's habitual criminal statute, which means he could be sentenced life in prison if convicted.

"Our family has been through hell, and I would like an end to this," Smart said. "And if whoever is out there, if it happens to be that Richard is not the one, if he will please come forward and contact us. We need Elizabeth back. I still feel Elizabeth is out there, she needs our help."

Ricci could face life in prison if convicted on theft charges.

Ricci attorney David Smith has maintained his client was not involved in the kidnapping, and Smith told reporters Thursday that Ricci sends "his sincerest apologies and he -- like you -- prays for Elizabeth's safe return."

Smith said Ricci was apologizing "for any hurt that (the family) may feel as a result of whatever he may have done. I'm not going to go into whatever he has done, but, yes, he feels badly."

As far as the kidnapping goes, Smith said, "[Ricci's] position is he had nothing to do with it. He doesn't have any idea where she is and he -- like everybody else -- would like her to be found."

Elizabeth was abducted at gunpoint from the family's 6,600-square-foot home June 5 while her parents and four brothers slept. Her younger sister, who was in the bedroom with Elizabeth, witnessed the abduction.

In addition to the alleged theft from the Smart home, Ricci was charged with burglary and theft from a home in the same Federal Heights neighborhood. He allegedly stole $300 in cash and jewelry during that April 1, 2001, break-in. The break-in allegedly occurred while family members were sleeping inside.