'Operation Drop The Hammer' Nabs 26 Unlicensed Contractors

DUNEDIN, FL - Pinellas sheriff's deputies arrested 26 unlicensed contractors during the "Operation Drop The Hammer" undercover sting over the past three days. Sheriff Bob Gualtieri described the arrests made during the sting operation as "like shooting fish in a barrel."

The 26 people arrested face 57 charges of unlicensed specialty contracting violations and workers compensation fraud. Pinellas County sheriff’s deputies posed as homeowners and called contractors who advertised online and in publications.

"This problem of unlicensed contractors engaging in work inappropriately, quite frankly ripping people off is a huge problem; it shows the ineffectiveness of enforcement over the last several years because this operation was too easy," the sheriff said.

The operation began on Saturday Feb. 17 and ended on Monday Feb. 19, as the undercover sting operation was conducted at 962 Grovewood Drive in Dunedin.

In October, Gualtieri announced the arrest of 20 unlicensed contractors and 58 criminal charges as part of the multi-agency "Operation Nailed." The sheriff said the two-month operation targeted unlicensed contractors who are "scamming innocent citizens and doing shoddy work or no work at all after receiving advance payment."

The sheriff said unlicensed contractors had faced fines in the past, but that had not been a deterrent. He said the contractors had just considered it "the cost of doing business."

"There is no more just paying a fine and moving on to another victim" he said. "The message to these people is stop it, knock it off."

Gualtieri established the Construction License Investigation Unit on Aug. 7. Since then, the sheriff's office has conducted more than 700 unlicensed contracting or related investigations.

Image and video via Pinellas County Sheriff's Office