Allegheny County detectives accuse contractor of failing to do work in Hampton, Bethel Park after being paid

Detectives with the Allegheny County District Attorney’s office have charged a McKeesport man with home improvement fraud after investigating complaints from residents in Hampton and Bethel Park.

John Fritzius III, 54, of the 500 block of Lincoln Way was charged with felony and misdemeanor counts of theft by deception, deceptive business practices and home improvement fraud.

A preliminary hearing before District Judge Tom Swan was scheduled for Jan. 25, after the Hampton Journal went to press. Fritzius was released from custody on a nonmonetary bond.

Detectives began investigating in October after a resident in the 2500 block of Wildwood Road Extension in Hampton reported that he paid Fritzius $1,500 in advance for a $3,000 job on April 20 to replace a wall along his driveway, according to a criminal complaint.

The man told investigators that Fritzus worked for about 20 minutes tearing down the existing wall before leaving with all the materials and never returning.

Over a six-month period, Fritzius ignored repeated messages asking him to complete the project or refund the money, the complaint said.

The homeowner gave investigators copies of the contract he and Fritzius signed along with emails and text messages sent between them.

In early November, detectives investigated a complaint from a couple living along Chessbriar Drive in Bethel Park who reported that in early May they signed a contract with Fritzius for him to excavate and replace a walkway, retaining wall and driveway for $25,000, the complaint said.

The couple paid Fritzius an $8,000 cash deposit on May 7, the complaint said. They told police that a month after hiring, he had put in only about two days’ worth of work.

Fritzius told the couple that he was unable to get the equipment he needed for the work and required another $2,000 for more materials, the complaint said, and told that them that spent most the $8,000 deposit on machinery and block for the wall and could not complete the work without more money to buy gravel.

The couple refused to give him another $2,000, but agreed to pay the supplier directly for the additional gravel, and they also agreed to give him $155 to fill up the tank in his truck so he could get to and from the job site, the complaint said.

The couple said Fritzius returned the next day but stayed for only about an hour and never returned.

Investigators said the couple checked with the equipment and material suppliers that Fritzius was using and learned that he paid for just half the cost of renting an excavator. The couple also learned from the material supplier that Fritzius put in an order for block, but it would not be delivered until payment was made.

Police said they were informed by the state Attorney General’s Office that Fritzius had submitted his home improvement company, Outside Creations, with its contractor registry, but the registration expired in August 2011, according to the complaint.

The expired registration also is listed for the business on the Better Business Bureau’s website, which also lists one complaint and gives the company a one star review.