Published: May 07, 2008 10:05 pm            

NORTH TONAWANDA: State attorney general goes after embroiled contractor.

An area contractor who may have ripped-off North Tonawanda homeowners on at least five occasions since 2004 is now embroiled in allegations leveled by the New York state Attorney General’s office.

The office of state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo alleges Ronald Timmerman, 30, Sowles Road, Hamburg, continually violated a previous court order that in effect took him off the job pending the payment of about $30,000 in restitution.

He is charged with criminal contempt.

The most recent allegations stem from “at least 10” breaches of a February 2007 state Supreme Court order telling Timmerman he could no longer solicit business as a contractor.

According to city officials, Timmerman was continually cited for violations of state and local labor laws for work undertaken in North Tonawanda for at least four years prior to the ’07 ruling.

“It all started here,” North Tonawanda Building Inspector Cosimo Capozzi said. “He snuck into town behind my back.”

Capozzi produced documents showing Timmerman was cited for working without a permit at a house at 84 Washington St. in 2005.

“We charged him $456 for a permit that probably should have cost him $45,” Capozzi said, citing among other things $250 daily penalties the city charges for such violations.

Capozzi said the city won’t always aggressively seek such fines as long as individuals are prompt to register their work through the proper channels, including applying for adequate liability and compensation coverage.

Timmerman, according to city records, then registered with the city and attempted to waive workers compensation with regard to potential employees, claiming he worked alone.

But in 2006, he was cited for working on a home on Christiana Street with uninsured help and the city took him to court.

About this time, Capozzi said, James M. Morrissey of the Attorney General’s Buffalo field office spoke with officials here, apparently building a case against him.

The city’s suit in August 2006 resulted in penalties for Timmerman, then operator of Timmerman Roofing and Siding, and prompted him to become insured. He applied for the minimum $300,000 liability and again waived compensation.

A month later, documents show Timmerman was cited again for undertaking work at the same Christiana Street home alongside other, uninsured workers under his direction.

The city revoked his license two days later and Timmerman, who authorities with the state said had a “long history of offering to do renovations for homeowners, getting their money and then not doing the work,” went back to work elsewhere in the area “within a few weeks” of the ’07 order.

Cappozi said Timmerman may have originally caused about 75,000 damage to a property at 757 Sweeney St., now being renovated.

Capozzi said Timmerman failed to cover the structure properly, resulting in extensive water damage.

The state offers tips on avoiding home-repair fraud, which can be found by clicking on the consumer tips button at www.oag.state.ny.us/consumer/tips/home_improvements.html.

Contact reporter Neale Gulleyat 693-1000, ext. 114.

        

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