Montgomery County Newspapers

Faking hail damage not new

Siding or roof was damaged, but windows, screens, vents and gutters were not damaged.

Damage confined to the center of the roof - indicating someone may have feared nearing the edge.

Damage confined to the edges of the roof - indicating someone was working from a ladder.

Several homes in the same neighborhood could suggest unscrupulous contactor is at work.

No other structures were damaged in the area.

Faking hail damage to rip off an insurance company isn't a new scam, but the arrest of two Bucks County contractors last month has perked the ears of homeowners from Lehigh, Bucks and Montgomery counties in Pennsylvania to the New Jersey shore.

Marcin Porzkowski and Dominick Sadowski were employed by Precision Builders when they were arrested last month, Porzkowski in Pennsylvania, Sadowski in Burlington. The case against them centers in Lehigh County, but the complaints about Precision Builders are from a much broader area.

Porzkowski, 35, of Quakertown, and Sadowski, 34, of Sellersville, are both awaiting preliminary hearings on insurance fraud, corrupt organizations, conspiracy, criminal mischief and theft charges. Both men and their employer, Steven Sciubba, of Voorhees, owner of Precision Builders, are also facing a more than $1 million lawsuit filed by one of the insurance companies they allegedly defrauded. Sciubba has not been charged with a crime in connection to the Lehigh County investigation.

In a separate case, charges were filed in Montgomery County, Pa., by the state Attorney General's Office against another Precision Builders employee, Marcin Gradziel, 33, of Red Hill, Pa. Gradziel faces insurance fraud, theft and criminal mischief charges for allegations similar to those filed against Porzkowski and Sadowski.

Insurance fraud experts said the hail damage scam the men allegedly ran has been around for a long time, if not specifically as hail damage, then as storm damage.

"This is not a new scam, we are seeing more occurrences," said Frank Scafidi, spokesman from the National Insurance Crime Bureau. The NICB is a nonprofit organization that works with authorities to stop insurance fraud. "There were storm damage scams (in the gulf states) even in the case of Katrina before the water hit."

According to NICB statistics released in a report last year, hail damage claims increased nationwide by 61 percent from 2006 to 2009, but cases of suspected fraudulent hail damage claims increased 136 percent. In Pennsylvania, hail damage claims climbed from 617 in 2006 to 4,219 in 2009. During that same time span, claims in New Jersey went from 571 to 1,110. However, there were only 12 questionable claims reported to NICB from Pennsylvania and New Jersey between 2006 and 2009. According to court records, several insurance companies paid for damages created by inspectors sent by Porzkowski or Sadowski. Officials in Bucks County said they were concerned by Precision Builders' activities, but insurance adjusters were approving payments.

Police psychologists help Montgomery County officers cope with ...

One of the most unsettling memories David Fraser-Hidalgo carries from his time as a Montgomery County police officer was the day he arrested a man who threatened to kill him and his entire family.

"There's just a whole lot of unknowns in the life of a police officer," he said, explaining that the stress is constant for officers and builds up quickly. "For example, when you're out to dinner with your family, you have no idea who might recognize you."

Fortunately, Fraser-Hidalgo also remembers the close camaraderie and support from fellow officers that kept him motivated during his nearly four years on patrol in Wheaton's Fourth District. In fact, more than a decade after quitting the force, Fraser-Hidalgo still keeps in touch with Cpl. Frank McAtee, a valued friend at the time and now the department's Peer Support Team coordinator.

"There are a lot of departments that don't have Peer Support Teams, there are a lot of departments that don't have psychologists on staff," McAtee said of his work with the department's Stress Management Team. "Just the fact that the department has a program like this helps tremendously."

Realizing the severe stress and even trauma faced by police officers, the department's Stress Management Team works to ease tensions with a multi-tiered system of peer support, professional therapy and, most importantly, a willingness to listen. In addition to the Peer Support Team, the county police also employ two staff psychologists to provide professional stress management, including mandatory sessions for officers who have faced particularly traumatizing events like the death of a colleague or a hostage situation.

Surprisingly, the most frequent visitors to the psychologists are officers seeking relationship counseling for the many stress-related complications they face, according to Dr. Ginger Hays.

"In the population in general, maintaining a relationship is difficult, and then there are special demands when someone is in this kind of work," Hays explained, saying working crazy midnight shifts and sudden, overtime court appearances quickly sap an officer's energy and put relationships to the test.

In addition, many of the very same skills that make a good police officer often prove disastrous to a marriage, she said.

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