|
Published: June 30, 2009 08:00 pm
NORTH TONAWANDA: Are gypsies stealing building contracts?
Building inspector’s concerns unconfirmed by police
By Neale Gulley
Niagara Gazette
The recent burglary of a North Tonawanda business has some in the city suspicious a group of gypsy scam artists may be looking to defraud area homeowners.
City police, however, say no such scam has yet to be documented in the city.
Building Inspector Cosimo Capozzi became concerned following a recent break-in at A-Best Roofing and Siding, 7 Payne Ave. — a reputable contractor, he said.
He suspects the business may have been burglarized so that thieves could access names and addresses of pending work orders before scamming those customers using the legitimate contractor’s identity.
“I got a note from a local contractor that (others) have been broken into by this ‘band of gypsies’ who stole their contracts,” Capozzi said. “They broke into the office, went through the files and stole nothing other than copies of their contracts.”
North Tonawanda Police Det. Rob Kalota said Tuesday he hasn’t been assigned to investigate any similar break-ins, at least not in his jurisdiction.
Based on the limited information he’s heard, Capozzi said the same individuals — perhaps from a different part of the country — could then go to the future job site and assume the identity of the contractor in order to either pull illegal permits under the company’s name or else take a down payment on a job they’ll never do.
Regarding illegal permits, Capozzi said the city guards against such fraud by requiring various identification from the same workers listed on a given permit application.
“When we catch them, if I can drag them into court I’d prosecute the hell out of them,” Capozzi said.
The owner of A-Best, Tom Arida, could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
Kalota, who is investigating the break-in, said it occurred sometime between June 13-15, but that initially, the owners couldn’t determine exactly what had been taken.
Prior to the burglary, he said two auto shops had also been burglarized, but wouldn’t draw any connection between those prior incidents and the one at A-Best.
“They haven’t been able to come up with anything that was taken ... and that’s when they brought up this ‘gypsy’ scam where they come up from the south and essentially just steal work out from underneath these guys,” Kalota said. “When I talked to A-Best there was no known incidence of this type of thing — it was a word-of-mouth warning, is how I understand it, from A-Best, you know ‘this kind of thing is going around, so be alerted to it.’ ”
|
|
|
|
 |
DRIVER
Driver, light pick up & delivery, need own car, know WNY, valid NYS driver lic., good pay 694-1251...>MORE
Maintenance Supervisor
Maintenance Supervisor
FT Maintenance Niagara Falls YMCA. HVAC, electr., plbg, carpentry, cleaning, pool. $13.25/hr...>MORE
Grill Cook
GRILL COOK & Waitresses, exp only, full time. Apply within 2021 Main St. Nia Falls ...>MORE
Used Car Lot Helper
USED CAR Lot Helper misc. duties, valid driver’s license, great work environment. For details 731-2319 ask for Mr. Dan...>MORE
SHIPPING CLERK
Shipping Clerk, p/t, 30-35 hrs. wk., exp. in warehouse environment, knowledge of Word/Excel, data entry, UPS, freight ch...>MORE
BILINGUAL PHONE INTERVIEWER
Bilingual Telephone interviewer. Surveys for insurance policy review. Spanish/English a Must. ft/pt & Sat. No sales/coll...>MORE
Hospitality/Tourism Instructor
Hospitality/Tourism. NIAGARA COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE is seeking applications for part-time instructor to teach hospita...>MORE
Private Investigator
Private Investigator
Proven ability and equipment to conduct surveillance, background inquires and searches. 1-5 ye...>MORE
OFFICE HELP
Office help, p/t, must have exc. computer/word processing skills, fax 877-2029 or jimshotwell@roadrunner.com, NO CALLS...>MORE
Adult Residential Services Administrator
HUMAN SERVICES
Progressive Niagara County Agency serving adults with psychiatric disabilties seeks an Adult Reside...>MORE
See all ads |
1999 Dodge Caravan
DODGE 1999 Caravan, 33, V6, auto, A/C, 99k miles, good cond., runs great. $1950. 525-7796...>MORE
Monte Carlo Z24 1998
MONTE CARLO Z24, 1998, runs good, average miles, excellent shape, $1800 , 990-2303...>MORE
1996 Saturn Sport Coup
SATURN 1996 Sport coup, 4 cyl, auto, exc cond in & out, loaded, CD, no rust, 97k orig. mi, $2195. 523-7102....>MORE
Nissan 1993 4x4
NISSAN 1993 4x4, extended cab, bedliner cap, $1200 or best offer, 715-2450...>MORE
Dodge 1993 Dakota 4x4
FORD 1999 WIndstar, LX, fully loaded, 38k miles, $3850. Excellent condition 860-4747...>MORE
Chevy 1995 Pickup
CHEVY 1995 Pickup truck, 4WD, 5 speed, must see, never had plow on it, $2800 bo, 804-5579...>MORE
Ford 1998 F150
FORD 1998 F150, standard cab, 4wd, excellent shape, $3495.
716-525-2889...>MORE
Chevy 1994 High Topper Van
CHEVY 1994 High topper van, high road miles, mechanically sound, $900 or bo, 716-510-8105...>MORE
Yamaha 1982, 750
YAMAHA 1982, 750, runs perfect,
low mileage, $895.
716-525-2889...>MORE
Ford 1999 Windstar
FORD 1999 WIndstar, LX, fully loaded, 38k miles, $3850. Excellent condition 860-4747...>MORE
See all ads |
|
 |
|
Print this story
E-mail this story
