WELLINGTON, Fla. — A Wellington contractor faces a series of charges after three couples said he took thousands to storm-proof their condos but never performed the work.
Records show contractor Michael Chichelli Jr., had his contractor's license revoked 13 years ago for similar incidents.
According to his arrest report, he owes $70,000 to the state in unpaid fines because of what police labeled as "fraudulent dealings."
This time, Chichelli is facing criminal charges of grand theft and contracting without a certification.
Chichelli is also charged with contracting without certification and using his father's contracting license, according to the arrest report.
The alleged victims lived at the Ibis subdivision in West Palm Beach and were expecting to have hurricane screens installed at their condos.
According to the arrest report, Chichelli took more than $12,000 from the three couples, did no work on the projects and never got building permits.
WPTV spoke with one couple, Chris and Janet Silge, who said they're hopeful that they've helped prevent others from being victimized.
"We were pleased he was brought to justice. We were not happy about the situation," Janet Silge said. "Clearly, we would rather have him come to us and say, 'I'm having some problems, I can't get the supplies, I can't get the help or whatever. I can't do the job, here's your money back.' That would have been a better outcome for us."
According to the police report, Chichelli made no effort to pay back any of the couple's money.
The report claims Chichelli was supposed to install the hurricane screens in the spring of 2022.