Contractor accused of fraud by Allegheny Township police faces trial for 4 similar cases

A home remodeling contractor from Pitcairn accused five times in as many years of taking money for work he didn’t do has been ordered to stand trial for charges filed by four Westmoreland County police departments.

Daniel Ronald Amodeo, 54, of the 600 block of Wall Avenue was charged Jan. 25 by Allegheny Township police with felony counts of conducting deceitful business practices and taking payments for work that was not done.

He was taken into custody Nov. 14 and was being detained in the Westmoreland County jail in lieu of a $500 bond.

He waived his right to a preliminary hearing Tuesday, Nov. 28, before District Judge Cheryl Peck Yakopec, who ordered him to stand trial in Westmoreland County Court. Formal arraignment is scheduled for Jan. 3.

Allegheny Township police wrote in a criminal complaint that in August 2022 a resident reported he paid Amodeo $3,350 to build a retaining wall on his property, which was half the cost of the $6,700 project.

The man provided police with a series of unanswered text messages he sent to Amodeo asking when he planned to start the work, the complaint said.

The property owner also gave police copies of the canceled checks he got back from his bank showing that Amodeo signed the back when they were cashed, police said.

Other accusations

• According to court records, Amodeo is scheduled to appear in Westmoreland County Court on Jan. 3 for formal arraignment for charges filed by North Huntingdon police.

In May 2022, North Huntington police charged him with felony counts of deceitful business practices, theft and theft by deception. He waived his right to a preliminary hearing Nov. 22 before District Judge Henry Moore, who ordered him to stand trial.

• Amodeo also is awaiting trial in Westmoreland County Court on misdemeanor counts of deceitful business practices and theft by deception filed by Murrysville police in August 2019.

A pretrial conference hearing is scheduled for Dec. 19 for that case, court records show.

• A pretrial conference also is scheduled for Dec. 19 for a felony count of receiving advance payment and a count of theft by deception filed by Latrobe police in June 2019, court records show.

• In July 2022, police in Baldwin Township charged Amodeo with misdemeanor counts of theft and deceptive business practices. A hearing has not yet been scheduled, court records show.

• Pittsburgh police charged Amodeo in October 2022 with felony counts of theft and making false statements to get a remodeling contract.

Online court records do not show any hearing dates in connection with those charges.

Amodeo’s name did not come up in a search of the state attorney general’s contractor registration website. The law requires contractors who do more than $5,000 worth of work a year to register with the state.