A man who signed a settlement with the state after he allegedly sold bomb shelters but never delivered them missed two deadlines to pay the state.
The former customers of a New Jersey businessman with a shady history say he seems to be giving the state of New Jersey the proverbial finger.
Al Demola of Cranbury signed an agreement with the Attorney General's office and the Division of Consumer Affairs in January, agreeing to pay $177,373 to settle allegations that he and his company, Titan Shelters, sold bomb shelters to three customers but never delivered the goods.
The payment was due Feb. 3.
When the payment wasn't made, Consumer Affairs issued a Notice of Noncompliance, giving Demola and the company five additional days -- until Feb. 10 -- to pay.
But by the end of business on that day, no payments were made, Bamboozled has learned.
"No payment has been received to date," a spokeswoman said. "The Division is currently considering legal action to enforce compliance."
In the suit filed by Consumer Affairs in March 2014, the state alleged Demola and Titan Shelters were in violation of the Consumer Fraud Act, the Home Improvement Contractors' Registration Act and advertising rules,
The complaint outlined allegations made by customers featured by Bamboozled in 2014.
Demola's attorney, James Lisa of Jersey City, said Demola hasn't paid because he's ill.
"Mr. Demola has been very sick. He's been unable to work and for that reason, he has been unable to make the payments to resolve the situation in that he has admitted no liability or wrongdoing," Lisa said. "As soon as he's well enough he's going to make restitution as agreed upon."
Lisa said he notified the state of Demola's illness and "sent over documentation" on Feb. 12, which is two days after the extended deadline.
Lisa wouldn't discuss the nature of the illness but he said Demola is not currently hospitalized and that his client will be returning to the hospital. He was unable to offer any timeframe.
Tina Greene, one of Demola's unhappy customers, said she doesn't believe Demola is sick.
"He used these tactics on us all the time. He's already used this one on me. It's not new to me," she said, adding that Demola told her he had a heart attack last year and that's why he said his phones were cut off. "I'm not sure I feel sorry for him right now."
Tina Greene and her husband Jerry stand on their property in the area where their bomb shelter was to be installed.Greene took a $12,000 loan from a bank recommended by Demola to pay for the shelter she never received, documents show. She's now stuck with $188 monthly payments, which she was hoping she could get rid of with the settlement.
Greene likened Demola to the character J. Wellington Wimpy from the Popeye cartoons.
"Demola's like, 'I will gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today,'" she said.
Greene said the state should take stronger action against Demola, who Greene said has a history of flouting the authorities.
"He's gotten over on them just as much as he's gotten over on everyone else," she said. "How much more are they going to allow?"
"They gave him the benefit of the doubt, and he keeps on thumbing his nose like he doesn't care," she said. "I want someone to make him care about what he did."
Ken Clayton and his partner Scott Olson said at one point during their dealings with Demola. he told the, too, that he was not well.
Ken Clayton (left) and Scott Olson stand on their property in the space where Titan Shelters was supposed to install a bomb shelter. "He obviously didn't care how other people were feeling when he took their money, so why should we care about him?" Clayton said. "There are sick people in jail."
The couple had signed a contract with Demola and Titan Shelters for the installation of a $21,000 shelter. They also took a loan with the bank recommended by Demola.
They're still making payments on the loan.
"He should face criminal charges," Clayton said. "He's dodged every opportunity he could to set things straight. I don't think he will ever pay."
The bomb shelter victims aren't the only ones with allegations against Demola.
Before he started offering survival shelters, he was linked to a series of waterproofing companies that left consumers saying they were scammed.
There was even a $200,000 judgment against one of the companies linked to Demola. That hasn't been paid.
Given Demola's history of complaints and the fact that he hasn't paid the settlement, we asked Consumer Affairs what the next steps might be.
The agency had no further comment, nor would it confirm whether it received something in writing from Demola's attorney.
So we turned to Tom Calcagni, a former head of Consumer Affairs who now works in private practice.
Calcagni, of Calcagni & Kanefsky in Newark, said with the consent judgment, the state agreed to dismiss its complaint and give up its ability to pursue the civil fraud claims against Demola and Titan Shelters.
But the parties agreed that the court would retain jurisdiction to enforce the consent judgment in the event of noncompliance.
"In other words, with the defendants' failure to make good on the settlement payments, the state can apply to the court to enforce the judgment, which may include seeking liens against and seizure of Demola's assets," Calcagni said.
We're not sure what kinds of asset are in Demola's name -- no real estate, according to public records -- but Demola and his wife Kim Costa filed for bankruptcy in 2013. The case was dismissed because they didn't file all the required information with the court, records show.
If Demola was to file for bankruptcy again, the consent judgment wouldn't automatically get top status under the bankruptcy code simply because it is a deal with the state, said Ilissa Churgin Hook, a bankruptcy attorney with Hook & Fatovich in Wayne.
"If the debtor -- assuming he files again -- and the state dispute the treatment of the state's claim(s) against him, the bankruptcy court would have to examine the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act and determine whether each of the specific sections of that statute referenced in the final consent judgment provide for a debt that is entitled to priority status under the bankruptcy code," Hook said.
And that's just the money part.
Demola's victims wanted to know at what point the case might become a criminal one.
Calcagni said the Division of Criminal Justice, the criminal arm of the Attorney General's office, probably already know Demola hasn't paid the settlement and are evaluating whether criminal charges are appropriate.
"That Demola seems to be ducking his civil restitution obligations makes this case far more attractive from a criminal perspective," Calcagni said. "Based on my experience as not only a former Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs but as the State's former First Assistant Attorney General, the most likely criminal charge here is `theft by deception,' which, given the loss amount, would be graded as a third degree and carry a range of three to five years in state prison."
The state does not need to choose one path over the other, Calcagni said. Consumer Affairs can apply to the court to enforce the consent judgment while Criminal Justice independently moves forward with its criminal prosecution, he said.
We reached out to Criminal Justice for an update on the case, but it referred us back to Consumer Affairs.
We'll keep you posted on what happens next in this case.
Staff researcher Vinessa Erminio contributed to this report.
Have you been Bamboozled? Reach Karin Price Mueller at Bamboozled@NJAdvanceMedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @KPMueller. Find Bamboozled on Facebook. Mueller is also the founder of NJMoneyHelp.com. Stay informed and sign up for NJMoneyHelp.com's weekly e-newsletter.