Steven Negri says he was taken for a ride. And the ticket cost him nearly $20,000. Three years ago, Negri hired a contractor to build his house in Franklin Park. In return, Negri said he's gotten delays, cost overruns, shoddy workmanship and even threats. When the contractor failed to pay his vendors for the material he bought, the vendors turned to Negri for their $18,000, he said. One even threatened to put a brick through his window. So perhaps Negri, 38, owner of Mandy's Pizza in Bellevue and a former public relations executive, can be forgiven for making a generalization or two. "I swear to God, they get together at a bar and talk about this: 'Have you tried this scam yet?'" Negri said. Allegheny County Councilman Charles Martoni, D-Swissvale, wants to create a registration program for home improvement contractors. The goal would be to help residents sidestep the trap that ensnared Negri and, last year, nearly 550 Western Pennsylvanians. That's a 14 percent increase from the year before. This region accounts for nearly a quarter of all contractor fraud complaints in the state, said Barbara Peduto, spokeswoman for Attorney General Mike Fisher. Yet contractors are rarely brought up on criminal charges because prosecutors often cannot prove criminal intent. Fisher's office, several lawmakers and consumer advocacy groups have tried for years to pass a state law criminalizing the type of contractor behavior that victimized Negri and requiring all contractors to register in a statewide database. Groups such as the Pennsylvania Builders Association lobbied heavily against it, killing the bill in each of the last six sessions. The builders association claims the bill would penalize legitimate contractors for the work of con men. Their biggest beef is the guarantee fund, a land mine Martoni avoided when crafting his bill. The state's guarantee fund would award money to consumers who won court cases, but couldn't collect because of situations like Negri's. Rather than force registration, elected officials should teach consumers how to protect themselves from fraud, said Jim Eichenlaub, government affairs director for the Builders Association of Metropolitan Pittsburgh. "A lot of these problems aren't regulatory. It's consumer stupidity," said Eichenlaub, who favors strengthening the criminal code to prosecute fraudulent contractors. The Allegheny County bill would charge contractors $50 to register. Mary Bach, consumer advocate for the AARP's Pennsylvania chapter, said con men protect themselves by hiding assets under the names of family or friends; if they get sued, those assets are untouchable. But that's not their only protection. About two years ago, Negri was minutes away from getting his money back, he said. The county was poised to start a sheriff's sale of the contractor's assets and give the proceeds to Negri. "About 15 minutes before the sheriff's sale was going to start, the sheriff told me it was canceled because (the contractor) declared bankruptcy," Negri said. Negri said the contractor remains under bankruptcy protection and has been working elsewhere because of his reputation in Allegheny County. Even with Martoni's bill in effect, county registration likely wouldn't catch situations like that. Contractors would register with the county Prothonotary's Office, which is too short-staffed to do background checks, said Deputy Prothonotary Eric Feder. They would have to rely solely on the information given by the contractor. Martoni's bill is based on a prototype program started a year-and-a-half ago by Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. The initiative has worked in Fox Chapel and Moon and Kennedy townships, officials said. Fox Chapel building inspector Bob Smith and Kennedy Manager Paul Bingham said contractors reacted well to the program because it offers a way to prove their legitimacy and get more business. But state law forbids county regulation of businesses, said county Solicitor Charles McCullough. The county could offer registration, but couldn't penalize those who don't register. "Are you going to pull a contractor's registration because there was a dispute over the payment of bills?" Eichenlaub asked. "There are a lot more complicated issues here than people understand. Oftentimes, people who don't know a damn thing about a business are the ones setting the rules." "I'm not saying that something can't be done," McCullough said. But, he added, the bill needs work. Additional Information:

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Dealing with contractors: Look for companies with permanent business addresses and get several free estimates before choosing one. Remember: Cheaper is not always better. Verify the contractor's insurance information with local authorities. Ask for references for similar work they've done and check them out. Don't be pressured into an immediate decision. Be wary of contractors who solicit door-to-door, accept only cash or aren't listed in the local directory. If something seems awry: Cancel the contract and financing within three business days of the contract's signing. Call the police, office of the State Attorney General and the Better Business Bureau. If you think you've been scammed: Pennsylvania Attorney General's Bureau of Consumer Protection : (717) 787-9707 Allegheny County District Attorney: (412) 350-4400 Source: AARP Pennsylvania , (717) 238-2277

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