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After contractor ordered to stop working by court, he continues passing out fliers for business

Posted at 9:55 PM, Jan 26, 2018
and last updated 2018-01-26 21:56:48-05

Patricia Fiasco says her mother hired a man to cut down two trees in her backyard.

"He promised her that the tree in the back of the house would be complete that day, and the following day this tree would be completed," said Fiasco while pointing to what are now just tree stumps.

She said William Burke, the owner of Cuyahoga Construction, took $4,000 from her mother Gloria, took down half of one tree and never came back to finish the rest.

"As soon as she paid him, he got in his truck and he left," she said.

So instead of seasoned landscapers, Fiasco's husband and a few neighbors rallied together to bring those trees down themselves.

"He needs to be out of business," said Fiasco.

Now its two years later and guess who shows up at her door? William Burke — again passing out fliers for Cuyahoga Construction.

"I told him he still had to pay my mom back the money that he owed her," she said.

Attorney Daniel Myers, says he knows Burke too.

"We were representing a couple who had hired them to do some work around their house," said Myers.

His clients sued Burke for more than $6,000 in 2016 and won. Now he's not allowed to do any kind of construction without court-ordered certifications.

"In our opinion, if he's out there still doing this work, we would take that to mean he's probably violating this court order," said Myers.

News 5 tracked down Burke ourselves and asked him about working without the proper licenses.

He confirmed over the phone, he is still working.

"We don't have 1,000 employees out there, if someone wants us to put a toilet in, I'll go put a toilet in," he said.

With those fliers now re-surfacing in her Old Brooklyn neighborhood, Fiasco worries more folks will end up just like her mother.

"My mom works 7 days a week, 12 hours days sometimes longer," she said. "And she doesn't deserve to be treated like that."