Douglas Shanley, Jr. Douglas Stanley, Jesse James Construction, Five Brothers Construction, Maintenance Free Major fraud -- DO NOT USE THIS CONTRACTOR! Springwater, New York

This is a warning to everyone in the areas of New York from Syracuse to Buffalo and down to the PA border -- but especially in the Rochester, NY area.  Douglas Shanley has been operating remodeling/roofing/general contracting companies for more than 10 years.  He is a crook, a liar and a thief.  He preys on unsuspecting customers, including the elderly.

Doug Shanley has no contractor's license; he operates his business as "DBA" (doing business as).  He requires a hefty down payment for work and then doesn't deliver.  Representing himself as the owner of Jesse James Construction, he ripped off my elderly parents for almost $7000.  He tore the roof off and gutting an upstairs room right down to the slats -- and then disappeared.  Once he was finally tracked down and threatened with legal action, Shanley tried to turn the tables on my 84 year old parents by saying they had defrauded their homeowners insurance company by not paying for a dumpster (which was in the contract as HIS responsibility).  He was sued and came up with all kinds of hokey excuses for not appearing in court, causing my parents to drive more than an hour each way just to have the case postponed.  Shanley failed to appear for the last hearing and my parents were awarded a settlement which they haven't been able to collect on because this guy works off the books.  

Shanley provided my parents with "references", and my mother called each one of them.  In the end we discovered that these so-called references were his sister, brother, girlfriend and mother.  He's served time in prison for attempted burglary and possession of stolen property, and is good at talking the talk to get his hands into your pockets.

He previously operated Five Brothers Remodeling, and a search turned up several hefty court decisions against him and that business.  His most recent company is called Maintenance Free.  Shanley has used the name "Doug Stanley" and has racked up a bunch of new complaints against him.  The Livingston County Sheriff's office is now investigating Shanley.

Shanley advertises his bogus companies in the local Pennysaver newspapers.  If you are looking for a contractor in the Rochester area, please make sure the contractor has a valid license (not a DBA), and check them out with the local building inspector or licensing bureau to verify.  Do not just rely on the references he or she may provide, because -- as was the case with Doug Shanley -- those references could turn out to be in on the scam.

Shanley has been the subject of several WHAM-13 investigative reports:  http://www.13wham.com/mostpopular/story/doug-shanley-jr-maintenance/mz-Z0wTZ8E6zmPK-Qwd-JA.cspx.