MORE VICTIMS OF SCAM SOUGHT PALMDALE RESIDENT CITED IN 4 CASES.

Byline: Greg Botonis Staff Writer

PALMDALE - A Palmdale man who worked as a building contractor was arrested after investigators said he had scammed at least four Antelope Valley residents out of thousands of dollars.

Joseph Dipasquale, 38, was arrested on suspicion of grand theft, making terrorist threats and elder abuse.

``He'd get people to contract him to do construction-type jobs, whether it be building a patio cover or building a house,'' said Detective James Murren, who with Detective Jeff Biehl investigated the case.

``He'd get down payments from the victims and start some of the work - but when the victims noticed that the work wasn't being done the way it should, and the victims said they weren't going to pay him anymore, he'd just walk away.''

The suspect was arrested Tuesday and released from jail the next day on $200,000 bail.

Detectives said they began investigating after a person who had hired Dipasquale reported being threatened by him while trying to get a refund.

Investigators found four more people who said Dipasquale failed to complete work they had paid for, including one who reported being threatened while trying to get money back.

``Some of the victims had said that they were threatened when they tried to recover their money through collection agencies or civil suits,'' Murren said.

The suspect was listed in the telephone directory under Dipasquale's A to Z Home Improvement. He does not have a state contractor's license, investigators said.

The Contractors State License Board sent Dipasquale a letter last year, advising him he might need a contractor's license, spokeswoman Lynnette Blumhardt said. The board had seen the name of his business on his application for a Palmdale business license, she said.

Detectives said the first scam victim they were aware of reported seeing Dipasquale's telephone book listing in October 2001 and hiring him to build a house in the Acton area. The construction did not make it past the framing stage.

``He left that particular victim at that point broke,'' Murren said.

A second case involves an 80-year-old Palmdale woman who had called Dipasquale to have her patio cover redone. The job was never finished, investigators said.

Because the woman was a senior citizen, investigators had Dipasquale charged with elder abuse.

In each case, the victims have had to pay licensed contractors and inspectors to inspect the work done, rip out the previous work and rebuild it, Murren said. Detectives said they were trying to locate other people who paid Dipasquale for work not completed.

``We believe there are more victims before the October 2001 incident and several more in between,'' Murren said. Detectives are asking people to call Murren or Biehl at the Palmdale sheriff's station, [phone].