More than three dozen unlicensed contractors have been arrested and charged after a two-day undercover operation by the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, Clearwater Police Department, and other agencies.
According to Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, the arrests were made to protect people from being ripped off, and from the dangers of shoddy, unlicensed work.
“The majority of ‘em — they’re not even from here,” he said. “They’re coming in from outside the area to exploit our residents and our businesses.”
It’s not even the first time he’s locked up unlicensed contractors since the storms. His team arrested dozens more in Madeira Beach two weeks ago.
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“As they would say, unfortunately, it’s shooting fish in a barrel. There’s so much of it out there, it’s not hard,” the sheriff said.
According to Clearwater Police Chief Eric Gandy, one of the unlicensed workers arrested in the most recent bust was preparing to do a $200,000 job.
Gualtieri said another was advertising demolition work but actually doing electrical work too.
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The sheriff said the number of arrests in the Clearwater bust will likely exceed 40. He said six of the 38 arrested so far are undocumented immigrants, and one of the six was in the process of being deported at the time of his arrest.
You can verify a license by visiting www.pinellas.gov/contractor. You can also call the county’s Consumer Protection department at 727-464-6200.
This story was originally published by Chad Mills on Scripps News Tampa.
