Sydney, Australia (12/7/2022)- Police and emergency services were called to a construction site in Belleview Hill, a suburb in eastern Sydney, around midday on December 7.
Video footage shows three men involved in a physical altercation on the roof. One man is then seen stumbling backwards and falling from the roof to the ground.
A 44-year old man is in stable condition after being rushed to hospital with injuries to his shoulder and torso.
Two other men, age 41 and 45 were arrested, but later released without charges.
Henderson County, Tennessee (11/17/2022)- A Henderson County, TN trooper stopped a Ford E-350 roofing van on Interstate 40 for traffic violations and then requested to search the vehicle after discovering possible criminal activity. A K-9’s alert prompted further search of the vehicle. Buried under roofing equipment, troopers found two coolers wrapped inside a
blue tarp. Inside the coolers were 6 bundles of cocaine and 1 bundle of eutylone., which is a Schedule 1 drug. The drugs were seized along with $22,080 cash. Juan Vasquez and Lot Barrera, both from Louisville, KY were taken to jail.
A trooper stopped a Ford E-350 van on Interstate 40 in Henderson County on 11/15/22 for traffic violations. The trooper requested permission to search the vehicle and it was granted once he discovered possible criminal activity was taking place. Another trooper arrived on the
Dallas, Texas (10/24/22) – A suspect named by Dallas residents as the “Nail Bandit” has been arrested. At least 30 incidents have been reported of hundreds of nails scattered in major intersections and other high-traffic areas. Neighbors in Preston Hollow picked up over 300 nails, only to find more scattered in the street later. The scattered nails had caused flat tires and increased concerns for safety.
On October 24, Kevin Genter, 45, was arrested by Plano police in connection with a separate deadly conduct incident a few days earlier involving gunshots. The fleeing suspect’s vehicle matched the description of a vehicle seen dropping nails throughout the parking lot of Toyota Headquarters on October 20 and 21. Highland Park and University Park Police have confirmed that Genter is a suspect.
Five contractors from Double L Seamless Gutters of Roanoke received electrical shocks and fell 25 feet from their ladders around 11 a.m. after an aluminum gutter they were installing touched a live power line. The workers were all on aluminum ladders at the time of the incident.
There were no fatalities, but two of the contractors sustained serious injuries, and were flown to the burn unit in Springfield, according to Grand Ridge Fire Chief Tim Geiger. The other three contractors were taken to area hospitals.
The Sheriff of LaSalle County is investigating the incident.
More here: https://abc7chicago.com/lasalle-county-il-grand-ridge-electrocution-gutter-workers-electrocuted/12047060/
Raleigh, North Carolina– Three defendants were sentenced on Monday, May 3, 2022 for conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States in connection with a fraudulent invoicing scheme that targeted Baker Roofing Company (BRC). Defendants were ordered to pay restitution of $1,850,442 to the company and received the following sentences:
George William Garven, of Clemson, South Carolina, was sentenced to 48 months in prison and three years of supervised release.
Robert Andrew Helms, of Indian Trail, North Carolina, was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison and three years of supervised release.
William Russell Davis, of Waxhaw, North Carolina, was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison and three years of supervised release.
“These defendants, all of whom are well-educated, successful businessmen, used their positions of privilege to enrich themselves at the victim’s expense,” commented United States Attorney Michael Easley. “Like many white collar offenders, their choices were not born of desperation, but of greed. They thought they were above the law—but today the law caught up with them. The U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners work tirelessly to ensure that those who cheat Eastern North Carolina businesses face consequences in federal court.”
According to court documents and other information presented in court, the victim, BRC, hired Garven in 2011 to serve as the Vice President and General Manager of its Charlotte branch office. In 2014, Helms and Davis partnered together to provide roofing subcontracting services to BRC through Davis’s business, R&K Davis Holdings (R&K). Between 2015 and 2020, R&K was used as a vehicle to fraudulently bill BRC for subcontracting work that was never performed. Among other things, Garven obligated BRC to pay R&K by generating fake invoices and subcontracts in R&K’s name. The criminal proceeds, were funneled into business bank accounts controlled by Helms and Davis and then disbursed to Garven in various forms, including gift cards and checks. The checks included fraudulent memo lines to make it appear they were related to legitimate business. Garven also directed Helms and Davis to use the embezzled funds to pay contractors to perform work on Garven’s residential properties. In furtherance of the scheme, Garven paid Helms and Davis each approximately $140,000 in cash.
Joe Wade, from Bucks County in Pennsylvania started a new roofing company in 2018. He liked Donald Trump’s slogan “Make America Great Again”, so he decided to name his company “Trump Roofing” and use the slogan “Make Your Roof Great Again”.
Before using the new business name, spent a few thousand dollars a week advertising online. He says the attention he gets brings in free advertising now. It has also brought criticism, stolen signs, and negative posts on his Facebook page.
His business has been growing, and now Trump Roofing has offices in Allentown and Abington.
In explaining his choice of naming his business after Donald Trump, owner Joe Wade said that the president “doesn’t own the word Trump. He doesn’t own a roofing company or have any stake in a roofing company.”
Wade’s business branding is similar to that of Trump’s political branding and his sign features a cartoon version of Donald Trump.
Trump Roofing employs eight people, full-time, and Wade has four subcontracted crews to do work, as well, because he’s so busy.
Wade knows that he may be losing business to certain people due to the name. He said, “You might be alienating 50% of the people, but like any business, if you get 1% of the 50, you’re making millions of dollars.”
If Wade’s looking to make a deal with a Democrat, he’ll admit that there are “certain good things” about Trump “and certain bad things.”
“I mean, we all know that,” he said. “He’s got good traits, as long as he keeps his mouth shut.”
“Overall, the reaction’s been pretty great,” he said. “One woman, when she saw the sign, said, ‘I knew he did walls. I didn’t know he did roofs, too.’”
Philadelphia, PA — The District Attorney has charged a roofer in connection to a body that was found in a burning vehicle in a South Philadelphia parking lot.
Luis Cruz, 39, is charged with murder, arson, possession of a firearm, possession of an instrument of crime, obstruction of justice, abuse of corpse and tampering with evidence.
According to District Attorney Larry Krasner, Cruz was a contractor that was hired to do a roofing job for the victim. The victim was unsatisfied with Cruz’s roofing work and refused to pay, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
On January 21, police officers responded to a report of a 2019 Jeep Wrangler that was on fire on the 2700 block of South 3rd Street. Police discovered the body of 43-year-old Joslyn Morgan in the back seat of the burning vehicle with a gunshot wound to the head, police said.
The cause of death was a close-range gunshot wound to the head according to the Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s Office.
On Saturday, Cruz was taken into custody. While being questioned, Cruz confessed to “key details of the crime” and detailed his attempt to dismember the body and destroy the remains, Krasner’s office said.
“This shocking crime required a significant and thoughtful investigation. I thank the Philadelphia Police Department and my office’s Homicide Unit for their expedient and careful work in tracing this murder back to Luis Cruz, who appears to have taken a man’s life over an argument about the quality of his roofing work,” District Attorney Krasner said. “Because of this murder, a man is forever lost to his family and community. In addition to prosecuting this case, my office is working to make sure trauma-informed services and resources are available to the victim’s grieving loved ones.”
A preliminary hearing for Luis Cruz is scheduled for February 12.
KENNESAW, GA– A man is accused of scamming an 80-year-old blind woman out of thousands of dollars for roofing work that he never did in Kennesaw, authorities said.
James Taylor, of Dalton, is wanted by Acworth police after allegedly going door to door in a neighborhood on Freedom Landing and offering to do roofing work for the woman, Channel 2 Action News reported. Her home fell under Acworth police’s jurisdiction despite its Kennesaw mailing address.
Police Capt. Mark Cheatham told Channel 2 Taylor has been arrested in the past for similar crimes.
“He has an extensive criminal history for conduct such as this,” Cheatham said.
Taylor told the woman he would clean her gutters, and he later convinced her that her roof needed maintenance, Cheatham told the news station.
He said she wrote one check for $1,080 before Taylor said he made a mistake on the amount and that he would destroy the first check. She then wrote him another check for $1,280.
An arrest warrant obtained by Channel 2 said, “The victim’s family hired a reputable company to inspect the roof and was informed that no repairs had been made.”
Taylor faces several felony charges, including fraud and exploitation of the elderly, the news station reported.
Anyone with information on this incident is asked to call Acworth police at 770-974-1232.
BBC England– Six gang members who carried out substandard or unnecessary roofing work for vulnerable elderly customers have been jailed.
They were found guilty at Teesside Crown Court, along with two other men who were sentenced to community orders.
They had overcharged five men in their 70s, 80s and 90s by thousands of pounds in 2016 and 2017.
Judge Sean Morris said it was a “well-organised fraud that set out to fleece elderly people of their savings”.
The sentences ranged from 12-month community orders to almost four years in jail.
He called Shaun Doyle “one of, if not the, main player” in the gang, describing him as “disgraceful” and a “very unpleasant offender”.
“It is quite clear there was deliberate targeting of them [the victims] because they were very vulnerable, frail, fearful, forgetful, and over-trusting,” he said.
In a statement to court one of the victims, from Thornaby, said he felt he had been “gullible”, the council said.
“I’m disappointed in myself for letting this happen,” the man said.
“They were happy to rip me off; they were so careless in what they did on my roof and I even had to pay for the damage they caused on my neighbour’s roof.”
‘Inadequate work’
North Yorkshire County Council trading standards, which investigated the gang, said an 89-year-old Richmond man had been driven to banks in Darlington on three occasions to transfer a total of £17,000.
Police were alerted by a member of the public who overheard the man talking to a bank cashier.
Image copyrightNORTH YORKSHIRE POLICEImage captionPaul Masterton and his son, James, were given community orders
The council said its surveyor called the work “unfit for purpose” and worth just £600.
Householders had been overcharged for “unnecessary, incomplete and inadequate work”, it said.
Police found the gang had targeted four other victims living in Thornaby, Pocklington, York and Rowlands Gill, Gateshead.
Three had paid £18,500, £10,700 and £9,500 but one was stopped from handing over money by neighbours who called the police.
Sentences and charges
James Masterton, 35, of Walnut Place, Newcastle – 12-month community order with unpaid work – money laundering
Andrew Hardy, 32, of no fixed address – three years, three months – money laundering and conspiracy to defraud
George Henry Queen Flannigan, 25, of Stirling Road, Milnathort, Kinross-shire – three years, 11 months – conspiracy to defraud
William Stewart, 23, of Holmelea Travellers’ Site, Elvington, York – two years, nine months – conspiracy to defraud
Shaun Doyle, 33, of Claremont Road, Darlington – three years, five months – conspiracy to defraud
Mark Genery, 39, of Tithe Barn Road, Stockton – two years, nine months – conspiracy to defraud
Graham Thom, 27, of Forglen Crescent, Turriff, Aberdeenshire – one year, 11 months – conspiracy to defraud
Paul Masterton, 67, of Walnut Place, Newcastle – 12-month community order with unpaid work – forgery
Paul Masterton and his son James were also ordered to pay £1,000 compensation to the victim in Richmond.
Doyle and Flannigan were given indefinite criminal behaviour orders, preventing them cold calling and carrying out residential work for anyone over 60.
A K-9’s alert prompted further search of the vehicle. Buried under roofing equipment, troopers found two coolers wrapped inside a
Joe Wade, from Bucks County in Pennsylvania started a new roofing company in 2018. He liked Donald Trump’s slogan “Make America Great Again”, so he decided to name his company “Trump Roofing” and use the slogan “Make Your Roof Great Again”.
