Family devastated after contractor guts home in Shoreham, abandons it
SHOREHAM, Long Island (WABC) -- A family on Long Island has been living a nightmare, after the contractor they hired to remodel their home gutted it, then made no further progress.
As you walk up to the Salientino family home on Winston Court in Shoreham, it certainly looks beautiful from the outside, but one look inside tells a different story.
Inside the home, there is nothing but plywood floors, exposed wiring and markings of where various appliances should be. The Salientino's say their contractor, and former friend, Robert Cortese, said he ordered everything.
Deanna Salientino says there was no order ever placed, even though they gave Cortese a total of $96,200.
She says her family was devastated and forced to live in a tiny camper behind their home. They have been living in it for more than a month now.
Salientino and her husband have three kids. Their oldest is 9 years old, but they also have a 7-year-old and an 8-month-old baby.
There are only two things the family says they did receive in the house: a beautiful fireplace, and brand-new tiles -- several hundred square feet of it. She says the only reason they have that is because they were the only items she ordered herself.
They did ask for proof and receipts for their goods from their former friend, repeatedly.
"He kept saying, 'they're coming, they're in production, they're on their way,' every day. Our floors were coming, and they never did," Salientino said.
They later learned that Cortese is on Suffolk County's Consumer Affairs "Wall of Shame," for operating without a valid contractor's license.
Eyewitness News visited the address listed as his home in Greenlawn, but Cortese didn't answer the Ring doorbell.
Suffolk County officials are strongly urging consumers to always check on credentials, something the Salientino's wish they did, but they were friends.
"Things we never knew about this gentleman that are now all coming out unfortunately," Deanna Salientino said.
The family has hired a new contractor, but they want their money back. They fear they are not Cortese's only victims.
"It's heartbreaking. Every night I just can't believe that this is actually my life. I feel like I'm in a movie," Salientino said.
The Seventh Squad in Suffolk County, is now investigating.
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