the house. the couple says pickering knew that since they had already paid there was no way to make him fix the problem without spending thousands of dollars in legal fees. and over the years roy pickering just kept on working, collecting cash and compiling 45 complaints from irate homeowners. board investigators revoked pickering s license in 2002, but that doesn t seem to have slowed him down. took money, a down payment, did not come back. took money, started a job, did not complete it. took money, started a job, but didn t meet trade standards. in order to protect homeowners, like clockwork once a week, senior investigators rick villucci, karl vega, and jeff miller run undercover sting operations around the state. last year the squad ordered $44 million in restitution for consumers. when investigators set up this sting house, pickering is the first contractor to take the bait.
on this day, villucci makes nabbing pickering priority number one. we just drove by roy pickering s house. i did see his work truck in the driveway, so we re going to go get another look. set up a location so we can watch him. villucci and three investigators in separate cars have staked out both of pickering s houses. they hope to catch him working without a license. you see the blue truck leave, if it s a big blue truck, that s the one we want. it s going to have pickering in it. you know what he looks like, right? yep. we ve put three investigators positioned around pickering s house to cover the exit. so when he leaves, we ll be able to tail him. got the truck rolling. he s rolling my way. right behind him. okay. hurry up, doug. you better catch up. after 30 minutes of high-speed u-turns and circular driving, officers suspect that pickering knows he s being tailed. he s screwing with you, rick. i ve been screwed with before.
want consumers to know that hiring contractors who display license numbers on their trucks or ads doesn t guarantee smooth sailing. this gentleman believed you were a licensed contractor. that s a felony. the numbers may be expired, borrowed, or simply fake. pickering is a bad contractor. retired marine bob morgan says for some contracting is a business without honor. he s an insult to the very expression of the word contractor. sacramento retirees bob and elena morgan say nine years ago they hired roy pickering of above-all heating. my life and my husband s life was in danger. it was a fire hazard. after improperly installing the unit pickering took off and the morgans lived without heat for an entire winter. and we all huddled in the family room next to the fireplace. we had no heating anywhere in