MAHONING COUNTY Contractor pays back money from scam

By PATRICIA MEADE
VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A Pittsburgh contractor who charged 82-year-old Ralph A. McKelvey nearly $18,000 for repairs worth roughly $1,500 has paid almost all of it back.
What's more, John Gorsky, a local contractor who read about the scam in August in The Vindicator, will do the work for the cost of materials only, Detective Sgt. Chuck Swanson said Wednesday. Swanson said Gorsky was "infuriated" by the Pittsburgh contractor's actions and offered his services for free.
"Everything's worked out so far. I was really a sucker," McKelvey said Wednesday, sitting in the living room of his tiny home on Meadowbrook Avenue. "If it wasn't for that nice police officer, I don't know what would have happened."
McKelvey said it's also "pretty darn nice" of Gorsky to do the work. Gorsky and his partner own Howard Brothers Home Improvement in Boardman.
"I saw that story, and it was very upsetting to my partner and I," Gorsky said Wednesday. "It's a shame how that guy could do that to Mr. McKelvey. How can this contractor sleep at night?"
Gorsky said he hates to hear complaints about contractors who don't do work or overcharge.
What happened
On Aug. 2, McKelvey wrote a check for $4,752 to Ron Day, a contractor with a Pittsburgh post office box address, to have a broken window fixed and the house power washed. The house was power washed but the window wasn't fixed.
McKelvey said there were at least five men who stopped by, saying they were doing work in the neighborhood.
Two days later, Day stopped back and offered to repair McKelvey's downspouts for $13,100, for which the elderly man signed a contract and paid in full, again by check. That work wasn't done.
John Reese, McKelvey's financial planner in Boardman, stepped in to help and encouraged McKelvey to file a police report. The case was assigned to Swanson.
The detective said he left several messages but never spoke to Day. He did hear back from Day's Pittsburgh lawyer, who worked out an agreement with City Prosecutor Dionne M. Almasy that required Day to pay back all but $500 to McKelvey.
The agreement was made to prevent criminal charges, Swanson said.
"We allowed $500 for the power washing, which is more than twice the amount it should have cost, and Day paid back the rest in four installments," Swanson said. "The checks were made out to Mr. McKelvey but were sent to YPD, and I took him to the bank to deposit the checks."
meade@vindy.com