Staff writer
Police from at least four departments are investigating reports of elderly residents being conned in a driveway repair scam.
While the way the scams are done is similar, police are not certain if all are related because of slight differences in descriptions of vehicles.
After a report appeared in Friday's Observer-Reporter of a South Strabane Township resident being conned, another resident reported that they also had been victimized, said police Detective Ken Torboli.
"It seems that they see an elderly person out on the porch or cutting grass," Torboli said. "These contractors are saying they are sealing the cracks, but all they are doing is spraying a quick coat on the drive.
"The elderly are being asked to pay a large amount for the work, when what has been done is worth way less," he said.
Police in Canonsburg, Houston and North Strabane Township are investigating similar complaints. A man with gray hair in a white Dodge pickup truck reportedly talked residents in those communities into the work. The truck in the North Strabane scam, however, had writing on the side.
Last week, an elderly Canonsburg woman was bilked out of $2,225 by a contractor who took money for driveway repairs and did not complete the work. Police said she paid him cash.
Canonsburg police Sgt. Al Coghill said the contractor, who also was in a white truck, convinced the woman that expansion joints in the drive were really cracks.
A Strabane man contacted North Strabane police with concerns that he had been the victim of a con after seeing the Canonsburg report in the Observer-Reporter. Police said he gave a man with gray hair $1,000 to do work on his driveway. The alleged contractor provided the Strabane man with a receipt and contract indicating the work had a five-year warranty.
In Houston, an 88-year-old woman was given a bid price of $300 by a contractor who offered to work on her driveway. When it was done, he pressured the alleged victim into giving him a check for $3,000, said borough police Chief Ed Sifinski.
Coghill advised residents wanting to get work done to get several prices for the work.
"Reputable contractors don't go door to door," Coghill said. "They just don't show up at your house. The work they claim to be doing is just sealing the asphalt. All they are doing is throwing down a couple of gallons of oil or tar. And that shouldn't cost what they are charging. Educate yourself about what a project should cost."
Sifiniski reminded residents of the adage, "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
"The story he is giving, claiming it is leftover material, is a bunch of nonsense," Sifinski said.
Anyone with information on the scam should contact their local police department.