GRANADA HILLS : Contractor Accused of Bilking Couple

A Granada Hills man who allegedly posed as a licensed contractor has been charged with bilking a disabled man and his wife, both 75, and leaving them with thousands of dollars worth of repairs to do in their yard.

Los Angeles city attorneys filed a criminal complaint against Siosaia (Val) Langi, 31, in Van Nuys Municipal Court on Wednesday. Langi is charged with one count each of contracting without a license and unlawfully advertising as a contractor. The offenses together carry a minimum penalty of a $5,200 fine and the possibility of two years in jail.

Prosecutors are pointing to the case as an example of the perils of hiring contractors without making background checks, particularly in the wake of last fall’s destructive brush fires.

“With all the people hiring contractors to fix their homes, it’s important to know you’ve got to call the state contractors’ board to see if they are licensed,” said Deputy City Atty. Donald Cocek.

The Granada Hills couple did not check Langi’s credentials before hiring him to complete extensive landscaping work last April, Cocek said.

“He represented himself as being a licensed contractor,” he said. But when Langi’s work was completed at a cost of $10,110, the couple found themselves with a sprinkler system that didn’t work, a new lawn that quickly died and a brick veneer with faulty concrete work that had to be redone, Cocek alleged.

The couple also reported that Langi trimmed trees he wasn’t suppose to trim, broke the back gates, and left unfinished much of the work he was hired to complete, Cocek said.

“They wish they never had done this,” he said.

Langi pleaded no contest in March, 1992, in Van Nuys Municipal Court to charges that he worked as an unlicensed contractor. He was ordered to pay restitution, but so far has not complied, Cocek said. There is a warrant out for his arrest for failing to meet a court appointment in connection to that case.

Langi was mailed notice of the most recent charges and is scheduled for arraignment Feb. 15. He could not be reached for comment.