Westmoreland County Veteran Out $9,000 Feels Ripped Off By Contractor

By Meghan Schiller

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    GREENSBURG, Pennsylvania (KDKA) — A disabled veteran in Westmoreland County feels scammed after he said he’s out $9,000 after a roofing project never got off the ground.

“I fought for that flag. I fought for the liberty and all the people,” said Harold Johnson.

Now Johnson is fighting a local contractor. Johnson served honorably in Vietnam and calls this a lack of respect.

“When you look back at that and you see people disrespecting a veteran in this manner, it hurts,” he said.

Johnson said he hired Devon Wayne Anderson of Anderson Home Improvements. The contract says the job to complete the roof would cost $19,700.

“We were trying to save up enough money for a roof to cover the entire deck, a gabled roof,” said Johnson.

Johnson told KDKA things started fine this spring. Anderson bought some lumber and put it in the yard, but the lumber yard told KDKA that Anderson paid with a bogus check from a closed account. The only completed work as of this week, Johnson said, is three drilled holes for support posts.

“I agreed to the roof to be attached to this,” said Johnson. “I got holes, no roof and a damaged patio.”

Criminal records show another family from North Huntingdon accused Anderson of failing to complete work, and North Huntingdon police filed felony charges against him. He’s due in court at the end of this month.

And when Johnson learned that, he said it hit home.

“That’s when it really hit,” said Johnson. “I didn’t make a mistake in giving someone an opportunity to better themselves, but some people look at a person’s kindness as a weakness.”

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