New City Contractor Charged in $100,000 Theft from Customer

A New City contractor has been charged with grand larceny for walking off a residential renovation project in 2011 and failing to refund more than $100,000, according to Rockland County District Attorney Thomas Zugibe.

Peter Provenza, 45, of 144 Strawtown Road, New City, is a licensed home improvement contractor who conducts his business under the corporate name of Provenza Contracting Inc. Zugibe said Provenza is accused of stealing from a Clarksown homeowner who hired him to perform renovations, a major remodeling and a room addition in April 2011.

Zugibe said the project was to cost $485,000 and over a period of several months Provenza was paid more than $300,000. Provenza is accused of walking away from the job in December 2011.

Attempts by the victim to have money refunded and to procure an accounting of what renovations were completed were ignored, Zugibe said. As a result, Provenza has been charged with one count of Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, a class “C” Felony.

Provenza turned himself in at Clarkstown Town Court in New City.

The charges resulted from an investigation conducted by the Rockland County Special Investigations Unit and the Rockland County Department of Consumer Protection.

Zugibe said Provenza will be prosecuted for Grand Larceny through application of the New York State Lien Law, which mandates that, upon acceptance of funds in connection with a contract for improvement of real property or home improvement, those funds become a trust, which can be used only to pay for costs incurred in the performance of that homeowner’s project.

The use of that money for any other purpose is a larceny under the Lien Law. Additionally, the contractor must maintain separate ledgers for each job for which he has contracted.

By failing to provide an accounting of how the money had been used and by not returning the money upon the demand of the consumer, the contractor is accused of violating both the Penal Law and the Lien Law, Zugibe said..

Provenza was arraigned in the Clarkstown Justice Court by Judge Rolf Thorsen and released pending an April 22 hearing.

Supervising Senior Assistant District Attorney Anthony Dellicarri is prosecuting the case.