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On the Books: ‘Fool in Love’ appeals to wide ranging audience

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Beyond the Byline: One Agnes is one too many

Joe Sekelsky, the Duryea plumber whose practice of taking money from customers and failing to do the work and who has been the topic of this column for several months, is under criminal investigation by the Wilkes Barre Township Police Department after a local resident complained he scammed her out of nearly $5,000.Marcy Smith, a nurse practitioner, called the police last week after waiting several months for a central air conditioning unit for which she paid Sekelsky $4,900 but never received.&#8220;I&#8217;d known the guy for about 10 years,&#8221; she told me. &#8220;Our kids played hockey together. I trusted him.&#8221;I&#8217;ve been writing about Sekelsky since February because so many customers of Sekelsky Plumbing and Heating have reported getting ripped off. Typically, Sekelsky takes thousands of dollars in advance from customers who get nothing in return but sob stories &#8211; a heart attack, toe amputations, a death in the family.He has a history of civil suits and unpaid judgments and was arrested earlier this year in Jackson Township for allegedly taking a customer&#8217;s money and failing to deliver, but the charge was dismissed when he showed up in court with enough cash to repay the victim.The attorney general&#8217;s office has revoked Sekelsky&#8217;s state registration and says it is investigating customer complaints but, so far, has taken no action.Smith said she moved into her parents&#8217; house last winter because her mother had become very ill. In February, she noticed water leaking from the air conditioning vents and gave Sekelsky a call.&#8220;He said the unit was shot and needed to be replaced,&#8221; she recalled. &#8220;I paid him $4,300 for materials. He disconnected the old unit and said he&#8217;d install the new one sometime in April.&#8221;In March, Sekelsky called Smith again, recommending she upgrade to a more expensive unit with a heat pump.&#8220;So I gave him another $600,&#8221; she said.Shortly after giving Sekelsky the additional money, Smith noticed leaking again while the house was being painted. She asked the painting contractors to check the leaks.&#8220;The roof was leaking &#8211; it wasn&#8217;t the air conditioning,&#8221; she said. &#8220;I had the roof replaced and the leaking stopped. At this point, I knew he&#8217;d scammed me but it was an old, inefficient unit and the guy has health problems, so I let him have the job.&#8221;Problem is, the job never got done.In mid-April, Smith called Sekelsky again to ask when he was coming.&#8220;I told him my mother was very sick with breathing problems,&#8221; she said. &#8220;I asked if the unit was in yet, and he said he wasn&#8217;t sure.&#8221;Shortly after that, Smith&#8217;s mother passed away.At the end of April, Sekelsky told her he had the unit, but not the heat pump. In early May, she asked if he&#8217;d received the heat pump.&#8220;He said, &#8216;I&#8217;ll let you know.&#8217;&#8221;&#8220;I&#8217;ve since discovered it&#8217;s all one unit,&#8221; Smith said. &#8220;But I&#8217;m not the type of person to complain.&#8221;Throughout May, Smith called and texted Sekelsky. He scheduled installation a couple of times; she took time off from work, and Sekelsky never showed up.Smith called the cops on June 10. An officer came to the house, then gave Sekelsky a call. The officer said he&#8217;d give Sekelsky until Saturday to deliver the unit or refund Smith&#8217;s money. Sekelsky promised he would deliver a brand-new unit right away.But he didn&#8217;t.Last Thursday, Smith went back to the police, who called Sekelsky again.&#8220;He promised to get me the unit by Friday or give me a refund,&#8221; Smith said. &#8220;I said I want the refund, and he said he&#8217;d have to return the unit and get a refund before he could give me my money back.&#8221;I called Sekelsky to ask what had happened. He hung up on me.I called the Wilkes Barre Township police and reached Lt. Kevin Kistler, who confirmed &#8220;an ongoing criminal investigation,&#8221; but wouldn&#8217;t say much more.&#8220;If we determine a crime has been committed, charges will be filed,&#8221; Kistler said.&#8220;I saved every text message, thank God,&#8221; Smith said. &#8220;I don&#8217;t even want him on my property now. He belongs in jail.&#8221;<style>
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<div class="neCaption">Christine Young </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/web1_Christine-Young-2.jpg</photo0><caption0>Christine Young </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>

Consumer Watchdog: ‘No-show Joe’ target of criminal probe