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John Cassidy, age 48, of Yonkers, and Thomas Kenny, age 23, were charged with violations of the Pennsylvania Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act and theft for pressuring residents into paying them for faulty contracting jobs, Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer and Brookhaven, Pennsylvania Police Chief Michael Vice said on Thursday, Sept. 23.
Cassidy, an Irish national, is in the country on an expired visa, authorities said. He is in custody while Kenny is still at large.
According to the charges filed by authorities:
- A 60-year-old homeowner told Chief Vice on Monday, Sept. 20, that earlier that day she had been pressured by a driveway sealing company.
- The woman explained that a man with an Irish accent had pressured her into having him seal her driveway.
- Initially asking for $2,400, they agreed to a price of $1,200, with the payment to be made in cash, the DA's office said.
- After the work was completed, Cassidy, along with Kenny, demanded $1,400 for the project.
- In actuality, the pair had used spray paint to cover the driveway, which is not an acceptable form of sealant, authorities learned.
- The woman added that a neighbor had also been pressured by a man with an Irish accent.
- However, the second victim attempted to prevent the contractor from doing the work, telling the pair that his driveway did not need sealing, authorities said.
- Despite that, the men arrived at the victim’s home the next day, accompanied by several other individuals, and told him that they had purchased the supplies and that they were therefore going to complete the work, the DA's office said.
- The “sealant" used by the pair was the same black spray paint used on the neighbor’s home.
- Payment in cash was also demanded but no receipt or signed contract was created in either case.
Both residents positively identified the men.
Cassidy's bail was set at $100,000 cash.
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