Ex-Lindenhurst man sentenced in home-improvement scam

An ex-Suffolk County man was sentenced to 3 1/2 to 10 years in prison for stealing more than a half-million dollars from 13 Nassau County residents in a home-improvement scam and for putting up as collateral a property he didn't own, prosecutors said Wednesday.

Anthony Delmaro, 42, formerly of Lindenhurst, was sentenced by Nassau County Court Judge Alan Honorof after pleading pleaded guilty in May in separate cases.

In the scheme in which he took money for residential and commercial improvements, Delmaro, an unlicensed contractor, pleaded guilty to third-degree grand larceny and first-degree scheming to defraud, according to a news release from Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice.

In the case in which he used a property he did not own for collateral in a business deal, he pleaded guilty to second-degree grand larceny, also a felony. In that case, he took $392,590 from an Old Westbury man, the release said. He asked the victim to invest money into his business and then paid back only a small amount, investigators said.

Delmaro also received civil judgments of $392,750 and $189,590 on behalf of his victims, the release said.

Rice said the sentence "brings justice for the home and business owners who trusted this defendant with their most precious assets."

In July 2008, the Old Westbury victim obtained a civil judgment against Delmaro in Nassau County Supreme Court of $422,527, including interest and further relief. Delmaro admitted in a civil court deposition to never owning the Deer Park property, and to cashing the victim's checks and gambling with the money in Atlantic City.

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In a separate case, Delmaro, doing business under a series of company names, entered into home improvement contracts with 12 Nassau County home and business owners between 2012 and 2013. The defendant entered into contracts to perform home improvement work on the complainants' roofs. In each case, Delmaro did not provide any materials and did not perform the work, the release said.

The total amount of restitution owed to the 12 victims is $189,590.

In addition, Delmaro faces grand larceny charges in Westchester County and Suffolk County, prosecutors said. Sentences to be imposed in all matters are expected to run concurrently.