ENCINO : Illegal Contractor Ordered to Pay $910
A man working illegally as a contractor after the Northridge earthquake was ordered Tuesday to pay $910 in fines and restitution.
Jacob Pardal, 53, of Encino was convicted in Los Angeles Municipal Court of contracting without a license after a declaration of a state of emergency, said Deputy City Atty. P. Greg Parham.
Pardal was arrested Feb. 16 during sweeps by the Los Angeles Police Department’s Bunco-Forgery Division and is the fifth person to be convicted of illegally contracting after the devastating Jan. 17 quake, according to the city attorney’s office.
“The person he was working for said she didn’t believe she was owed any restitution because he had completed the job,” said Parham. “But he was working without a license.”
Pardal, who also used the name Jack Perry and was doing business at Econo Tree Service when he was arrested, was removing trees and bushes as part of quake repairs at a home in the 9200 block of Crebs Avenue when investigators found him, Parham said.
He told investigators he was hired to remove 20 trees and bushes for $1,800.
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