Home Repair Contractor Faces Criminal Charges For Failing To Pay Material Supplier, Leaving Two Customers With Mechanics Liens On Homes

In St. Petersburg, Florida, The Suncoast News reports:

• When Wendy Whitt of St. Petersburg hired a local contractor to fix her roof, she got more than just a bill for the repairs. She also got a lien against her property. Whitt's problems started when she hired Marco Alamina and his company, Patriot Roofing Inc., in December 2006 to re-roof her home for $8,325, court records show. Alamina completed the project, but a construction lien of $6,499 was placed on Whitt's house because Alamina failed to pay his supplier, Suncoast Roofer's Supply Co., for materials used in the project, according to a complaint filed by the Pinellas and Pasco State Attorney's Office.

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• St. Petersburg resident Seth Laughlin hired Alamina in September 2006 to re-roof his house for about $5,000, court records show. Alamina finished the job but owed supplier Suncoast $77,962, court records show. Laughlin had to pay an additional $2,182.87 to pay off the lien and prevent his home from going into foreclosure, court records show.

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• Although Alamina had been served with civil suits and fined by local and state agencies over the years, prosecutors didn't have a viable criminal case against him until the incidents with Whitt and Laughlin, [Assistant State Attorney Theodora] Taktikos-Danzig said. Alamina, 32, was arrested on warrants Monday after the state Department of Business and Professional Regulation forwarded his case to Pinellas prosecutors. Alamina has been charged with three counts of the misapplication of real property improvement funds. He was released from Pinellas County Jail later that evening after posting $30,000 bail.

For more, see Homeowners could find liens against property with bad contractors.