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June 1, 2006

Update: AG names contractors nabbed in morning sweep

PROVIDENCE – In a sweep that targeted at least 20 contractors, the state police and the Attorney General’s Office arrested six individuals this morning on misdemeanor charges of not complying with orders from the state Contractors Registration Board, according to Michael J. Healey, spokesman for the AG’s office.

Five of the contractors are expected to be arraigned in Sixth District Court, Providence, this morning, Healey said. One will be arraigned in district court in Warwick.

The contractors arrested today have been ordered by the Contractors Registration Board to pay restitution to homeowners – ranging from $350 to more than $20,000 – and have failed to comply with those orders, Healey said.

According to Healey, the following men face the following charges:

Angel DeJesus, 53, of 130 Cleveland St. in Providence, owes $350 in restitution to a homeowner;

Reginald Felder, 37, of 26 B Somerset St. in Providence, owes $4,000 in restitution to a homeowner and a $3,500 fine to the CRB ;

Joseph Gonsalves with JMG Construction, 48, of 2020 Elmwood Ave in Warwick, faces four counts totaling $21,500, all of them fines to the CRB, in the amounts of $4,500, $1,500, $11,000 and $4,500;

Arthur Johnson, 45, of 237 Harris Rd. in Smithfield., owes a $500 fine to the CRB;

Kevin McGovern, 49, of 159 Wood St. in Warwick, is the one who will be arraigned in 3rd District Court in Warwick. He owes $17,000 in restitution to a homeowner and a $4,500 fine to the CRB; and

Rene Valcourt, 52, of 120 Turner Ave. in Cranston, owes $5,000 in restitution to a homeowner and a $4,000 fine to the CRB.

Healey said that the fines due to the CRB are so that the CRB can “make the harmed homeowners whole.”

The Contractors Registration Board resolves disputes between homeowners and contractors, Healey said. The attorney general’s office provides legal advice to the board, and in that role has worked with the state police in this matter, Healey said.

Because the charges facing the targeted contractors are misdemeanors, the police could not go outside of the state to arrest people, Healey said. Thus, not all of the 20 targeted contractors could be arrested this morning, he said.

“The attorney general believes this is a quality-of-life issue,” Healey said. “And the law says that this is a misdemeanor, but try telling that to a homeowner who’s out $20,000 for a job that didn’t get done or maybe one single thing of the job got done.”

Posted by Kate Bramson at 10:43 AM | Permalink

June 1, 2006

Update: AG names contractors nabbed in morning sweep

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