Sonny Stanley {BSO}
By Kevin Deutsch
Coral Springs Police arrested an unlicensed contractor Saturday for bilking a 75-year-old resident out of more than $26,000 in cash for shoddy roof repairs and work he never performed, court records show.
Sonny Stanley, 46, of Lighthouse Point, showed up at the woman’s door on July 8 and told her that while working on a neighbor’s roof, he noticed hers needed repairs, according to an arrest affidavit.
Stanley even showed the victim pictures of a different roof, claiming it was hers, investigators said. When the woman grew skeptical, Stanley lied and told her he was the cousin of a licensed estimator who had recently given her a quote for roof repairs, police said.
It was all a ruse, according to investigators.
Stanley appeared to have little roofing knowledge and did substandard work on the woman’s home, police said.
The home’s location was redacted from court papers because the owner was the victim of a crime.
Over ten days, Stanley told the victim her house needed a host of repairs and maintenance unrelated to roofing, from pressure cleaning and painting to tree trimming and electrical fixture repair, records show.
Stanley did the work without giving her a price, and the bills began piling up, police said.
The victim paid him $1,900 on July 8, $6,800 on July 9, $8,800 on July 12, and $9,200 on July 18, with Stanley pocketing a total of $26,700 from the woman, records show.
Stanley always insisted she pay in cash, investigators said, and even drove her to an ATM so she could make withdrawals from her bank.
She called the police on July 19, and investigators began probing Stanley’s scheme, records show.
When a roofing professional examined the work done by Stanley and his crew, the professional told police it was “well below standard,” unfinished, and needed to be redone, records show.
Stanley initially tried to justify his actions to police but eventually offered to pay the victim back, telling investigators he did not want to be arrested, the affidavit states.
The victim, however, said she wanted him prosecuted, police said.
Police later took Stanley into custody. He is charged with financially exploiting the elderly and operating as an unlicensed contractor.
Records show he was booked into the Broward County Main Jail and released on a $20,000 bond.
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Author Profile
- Kevin Deutsch is an award-winning crime journalist and author. A graduate of Florida International University, Kevin has worked on staff at The Miami Herald, New York Daily News, and The Palm Beach Post.
