Police: Penn Hills contractor, 84, took $28K but didn't do the work

Police accused a Penn Hills man of taking $28,000 worth of payments to complete work at a Greensburg apartment building and failing to do any work or return the money.

Mario Noce, 84, is charged with deceptive business practices and theft.

When contacted Thursday by the Tribune-Review, Noce said “there's absolutely no substance” to the charges and that he completed the work for which he was paid.

Police said in an affidavit that Noce was contracted in May 2016 by Square One Property Solutions for renovation work at a seven-unit building on Harrison Avenue. He was paid $14,100 upon signing the contract and requested an additional $14,100 for the purchase of materials, police said.

About a week later, city officials issued violation notices because permits for the work had not been acquired and Square One requested that most of the payments be returned after inspecting the property, police said.

During a January interview with investigators, Noce said he deposited the money into a personal account and provided several receipts totalling about $1,700, but police said it was unclear if the purchases were related to the Greensburg project.

On Thursday, Noce said he gave authorities and the company a breakdown of what was spent. “There was no money to return, I gave all my bills to them,” he said.

A hearing is set for Sept. 14.

Renatta Signorini is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach her at 724-837-5374, rsignorini@tribweb.com or via Twitter @byrenatta.