A complaint from a Hempfield resident that a contractor had bilked her out of more than $28,000 has led to the arrest of a fugitive couple.
Daniel J. Bishop, 59, and his wife, Diane Lorraine Bishop, 54, both of 922 Armbrust-Hecla Road, Mt. Pleasant Township, are being held in the Westmoreland County jail on fugitive warrants from two states.
Daniel Bishop is wanted by police in Hillsborough County, N.H., for probation violations and for theft charges related to home improvement fraud. Diane Bishop is wanted by police in Albany County, Wyo., for probation violations and charges of writing bad checks.
Their arrests were made as Westmoreland County detectives Will Brown and Frank Galilei were investigating a complaint by a Hempfield Township homeowner who paid Daniel Bishop more than $28,000 to build a garage on her property but claims he did not complete the work.
Brown and Galilei said they were in the preliminary stages of that investigation when the warrants were discovered. They also found a South Greensburg couple who claim Daniel Bishop failed to properly complete a bathroom renovation for which he was hired.
The detectives said local criminal charges may also be filed relating to those incidents.
Brown said the construction company, D.L. Bishop Construction, was registered with the state under Diane Bishop's name, though they believe Daniel Bishop signed all paperwork as D.L. Bishop even though his middle initial is J.
"He was listing himself and telling people he was D.L. Bishop," Brown said. "Whenever he would sign something for a homeowner, he would sign it D.L. Bishop."
Daniel Bishop had no driver's license or other records in Pennsylvania and detectives only had a physical description of him.
They were able to find Diane Bishop, but she refused to discuss the business or her husband.
So, with help from state Troopers Roy Mumau and Justin Werner, the detectives conducted surveillance and were able to track down Daniel Bishop as well.
The detectives said Daniel Bishop gave a false name as well as a fake Social Security number and date of birth. But as they looked through his wallet, they found old identification with the name Daniel J. Bishop.
The troopers ran both of the Bishops' names through a criminal database and found the warrants for both of them.
Brown said investigators in New Hampshire said they've been looking for Daniel Bishop on contractor-related fraud charges since 2006 and always found themselves one step behind. Detectives believe the couple have been in Westmoreland County for about three years.
Anyone with information regarding the Bishops' activities or that of D.L. Bishop Contracting should contact the Westmoreland County District Attorney's Office at 724-830-3287.
