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St. Johns County roofer arrested, license revoked

By Jenna Bourne and Action News Jax
By Jenna Bourne and Action News Jax

ST. JOHNS, Fla. — Homeowners say they’re being swindled by people they trusted.

An Action News Jax investigation has uncovered the skyrocketing number of Florida roofers whose licenses have been revoked since the last year's hurricanes.

One St. Johns County roofer was even arrested.

As the state cracks down, some customers, like Danny Jortzik, feel like they’ve slipped through the cracks.

He’s lived in the same house since he was 6 years old.

“I’ve been here for 58 years and I intended to live in here until it’s my time,” said Jortzik.

Jortzik and his mother signed a roofing contract in October, right after Hurricane Irma.

The contract said Jortzik and his mother paid a $3,000 deposit to First Coast Roofing.

Jortzik said the company put a blue tarp on his roof nine months and ago and never came back.

“I’ve been cheated,” said Jortzik.

He said he feels his mother was cheated too.

“She was over 87 when she died in March, on the 13th. So I swore to her I’m going to take it over. I’m not going to let it drop,” said Jortzik.

That same month, an Action News Jax investigation exposed multiple complaints against First Coast Roofing, owned by Robert Roberts, Jr.

Customers told Action News Jax that Roberts took their deposits, but didn’t do the repairs.

When Action News Jax tried to get Roberts’ side of the story, he threatened to break our camera.

“I will smash it. I mean, I do not want to appear on your TV show. I do not want my face on TV,” Roberts said in March.

Weeks later, Roberts was arrested on felony grand theft charges.

On May 29, a judge allowed Roberts to enter into a diversion program.

Last month, the state revoked Roberts’ roofing license.

Roberts did not respond to Action News Jax’s multiple calls for comment in June.

Action News Jax found out through a public records request that Roberts is one of 16 Florida roofers to have their licenses revoked by the state since Hurricane Matthew in 2016.

That’s more than double the number from the two previous years.

Better Business Bureau Northeast Florida spokesperson Shannon Nelson said roofer complaints doubled last year.

“It’s unprecedented,” said Nelson. “It’s frustrating. It’s exhausting. It’s exhausting for everybody that’s working here to say, ‘Oh no, here’s another one.’ And it’s every day. It’s day in and day out,” said Nelson.

First Coast Roofing repaired the roof on Chad Masters’ business two years ago.

Masters is already seeing missing shingles, water damage and mold.

“It’s depressing, actually. You know, it’s frustrating because I just bought this building a couple years ago, renovated it, put brand new windows, A/C, new roof,” said Masters.

The roof was under warranty, but because the state revoked Roberts’ license, that warranty is useless.

But Masters may not be out of luck.

Customers who file a complaint with the Department of Business and Professional Regulation may be eligible for money from the Florida Homeowners' Construction Recovery Fund.

Ten First Coast Roofing customers are already eligible if Roberts fails to pay them restitution, according to a DBPR spokesperson.

“I hope he has shamed himself for what he has done. People have trusted him,” said Jortzik.

For Jortzik, it’s about more than just getting the money back; it’s about protecting the house his mother spent decades treasuring.

Roofers whose licenses have been revoked since Hurricane Matthew:

  • Kyle Gillette Brown, Miami
  • Mauricio Corredor, All Construction & Developers Inc., Miami Beach
  • Timothy M. Cox, Nationwide Catastrophe Services Inc., Orlando
  • Axel Randolfo Galdamez, AG Star Roofing, Inc., Loxahatchee
  • Mark Joseph Konnick, M.J.K. Consulting Services Inc., Clearwater
  • Terry W. Lacoste, Weathertight Systems, Inc., North Forth Myers
  • Robert S. Mack, Nakitare Builders LLC, Clermont
  • Duncan Warren Munroe, Capital Roofing & Sheet Metal, Inc., Cape Coral
  • Lawrence E. Nemzek, JKL Construction LLC, Palmetto
  • Brian Michael Szymula, BMS Construction Corporation, Davie
  • James Lee Underwood, Jim Underwood Roofing, Palm Bay
  • Ulises R. Wiltz, South Florida Roofing Group of Miami and the Keys, Miami
  • Michael Dean Yancey, Golden Roofing Inc., Austell
  • Edward P. Zinkil, Jr., Roofing by Zinkil Inc., Davie
  • Robert Roberts, Jr., First Coast Roofing, St. Johns

Cox Media Group

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