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Joseph E. Collopy, 46, of Lansdale, will spend nine to 23 months behind bars followed by seven years of probation, and must hand over a total of $42,856.96 to former clients, said Bucks County District Attorney Matthew Weintraub in a statement Thursday, Nov. 10.
Through his companies Macintosh Construction and Collopy Construction Inc., the DA said Collopy signed a contract to renovate the kitchen and basement of a home in Warrington Township for $30,700 in January 2019.
But after the homeowner cut him a check for $15,350, investigators said Collopy "showed up only sporadically and performed erratically." The project, which was supposed to be completed by April, didn't begin work until late that month, prosecutors said.
The homeowner paid Collopy another $7,900 in May 2019, authorities said. But when conditions didn't improve, he fired Collopy in September and asked for a refund, they added.
The contractor begged for his job back, saying if he did not complete the work by the end of October, he would pay the homeowner back in full, officials said.
The homeowner relented, but Collopy continued to work erratically, using shoddy materials that "required repair or replacement" after the fact, and did not issue a refund when he failed to meet his deadline, the DA said.
Now,the contractor must pay $23,771.96 to the Warrington homeowner, a Bucks County judge ruled at Collopy's sentencing on Wednesday, Nov. 9.
He must also pay $6,890 to a Lansdale man for a roofing project, $8,375 to a Philadelphia man for a bathroom contract, and $3820.75 to a Philadelphia man for a laundry room renovation, the DA added.
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