Moriches man charged in roof repair scam

A Moriches man whose home-improvement license was revoked more than 20 years ago was arraigned Saturday on charges that he never did roof work for which a homeowner had paid him $4,000.

David Ricci, 43, of 5 Mirror Lane, was arraigned in First District Court in Central Islip on charges of third-degree grand larceny and performing home improvements without a license. He was released on his own recognizance.

He was arrested Friday after detectives from the county's Identity Theft Unit investigated a Brookhaven homeowner's complaint that he paid Ricci the money in April to repair the roof, but Ricci never did the work, Suffolk police said.

Ricci operated Competitive Concrete under a home-improvement license until the license was revoked in 1989, police said. More recently he was running a business called Ricci Services Ltd. until it was dissolved in January 2010.

Ricci is due back in court on April 15.

Detectives are asking anyone who paid Ricci for work they believe was not done to call the Identity Theft Unit at 631-852-6821.