'Fast Eddy' convicted of home improvement fraud

'Fast Eddy' got hobbled by a Northampton County jury on Tuesday.

A home-improvement contractor accused of ripping off a homeowner in Allen Township, Edward L. Humphrey was convicted of fraud and theft charges by jurors who deliberated nearly three hours after a two-day trial.

On Monday, victim Leeander Gray testified he hired Humphrey in 2011 to replace the roof of his Lappawinzo Road home and renovate his second floor. But after spending nearly $35,000, Gray said he returned home early one day to find workers packing their tools and complaining they hadn't been paid, with Humphrey no longer returning his phone calls.

Humphrey, 43, of Scranton, is also known as 'Fast Eddy,' according to court records. Authorities say the Pennsylvania charges weren't an isolated incident.

In Miami-Dade County, Fla., Humphrey was sentenced in 2009 to probation on grand theft charges, according to the Florida Department of Corrections. In New Jersey, he pleaded guilty in 2012 to theft for stealing more than $75,000 from clients, including a church, by failing to perform the work for which he was paid, the New Jersey attorney general's office said in a news release at the time.

For this week's trial, Northampton County Assistant District Attorney Erika Farkas flew in two people from out of state who said Humphrey took money from them and never completed their jobs.

One man, who came in from Florida, testified that Humphrey bilked him on a remodeling project in 2011 at his home in Reeders in Monroe County, Farkas said. The other witness said Humphrey scammed her in 2010 in Centennial, Colo., where she lives and where Humphrey had previously done business, Farkas said.

Like Gray's work, both were 'very extensive projects that were started and never finished,' Farkas said.

It was July 2011 when police said Gray hired Humphrey's company - Total Remodeling NEPA of Effort - after seeking roofers through an online contractor referral service.

Defense attorney Joseph Yannuzzi insisted at trial that his client wasn't to blame for what transpired, saying that Humphrey neither owned nor controlled Total Remodeling, and was merely a salesman for the business.

Gray said he believed Humphrey was the owner when they entered into the remodeling contract. When the project ceased, the second floor remained gutted, with exposed beams and no walls or insulation, photos displayed to jurors showed.

Gray said he ended up having to hire new contractors to complete the job and fix flaws in the work that had been done. He was also hit with a $6,200 mechanic's lien for building materials that were delivered to the property but that Humphrey never paid for, Gray said.

Humphrey, who is being held in Northampton County Prison, will be sentenced next month, Judge Emil Giordano ordered.