A CREEPY THEIF!!! Anthony Fratello stole $160! When he came to my home on 5/13/26 to estimate sealing some spaces in my ~ 18 ft gutter and putting on a new gutter elbow and guard. He said that the job could be done the next day and because he could use a 22 ft ladder and instead of a truck, it saved me money. I was traveling the next day, so I wrote him a check for $160 and noted in the memo section that it was for gutter repairs to be done on 5/14/26 or as soon thereafter as possible. While at my house, Anthony told me that his mom had recently passed. Offering my condolences lead into a long story and eventual flirting (yuck!) re: him not being sorry that his mom died, that she was his first bully, how he had been a pillhead (drug addict) for a long time and had been clean for 6 years, how he previously did not know how to treat women but (of course) now he understands how to be good to women. I nodded politely, congratulated him on his sobriety and added very short sentences to convey understanding. Then he mentioned that my nail polish was chipped and I told him I had to go get that fixed right then as an excuse to end the conversation. I walked him out and by the time I got in my car, he was texting me! His first message was about me mistakenly giving him the carbon copy (of the check) when I gave him the check. The next 2 messages were about how he felt bad that my nail polish was chipped and that he would be disappointed if I did not fix it! It was weird, so I just redirected the communication to needing a referral to a handyman who could pain a wall in my house, and Anthony went back to calling me ma'am (which is what I wanted.) The next morning before my trip, I called Anthony and asked what time he was coming perform the gutter work. He explained that his guys were using the truck on other jobs that morning and he was unsure if they would get to my job before the rain came. However, he previously told me that the job would be done with a ladder, without the need for a truck. Without pointing out the inconsistency, I questioned him about when the job could be done and he said that if they did not beat the rain that day, he was not sure because it was supposed to rain for the next few days. When I asked him if he had cashed my check, he said that he had given it to his accountant and he did not know if it was cashed. While on the phone, I checked my bank account and he had already cashed the check! I told him that I had only given him the check because I would not be there when the job was done and that he was not supposed to cash it in advance of the service, he got angry. I tried to calm him down and tell him this was business and not personal, and he said that I was the one taking it personally because I had been burned by other guys! (He was referring to me requesting a referral to a handyman because the guy I hired had not returned, however, he sounded as if he was talking about guys I had dated. It was cringe!) He was yelling that he did not need to steal $160, that he did not want the aggravation and he was going to come and return my money and not do the job. When I said that would be great, he immediately changed and said he was bringing the gutter elbow and guard. I replied that I did not feel comfortable doing business with someone who had spoken to me in that manner and he could return my money as he threatened, he hung up the phone and blocked me. I called him from another phone number and he hung up and blocked that number. It has been 2 weeks and he has not returned my $160.00! read more
