Sandy contractor who scammed $247K gets 5 years in prison

A Jersey Shore contractor has been sentenced to five years in state prison for scamming more than a quarter of a million dollars from homeowners after superstorm Sandy, police said.

Peter Rinaldi, 57, of Little Egg Harbor was sentenced on Friday, according to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer. Rinaldi had pleaded guilty in February to stealing more than $247,000 from eight homeowners who hired him to perform repairs.

He also must pay back all the money that he stole from the victims, Billhimer said.

Rinaldi was an owner of Donovan Mark Custom Builders, LLC and Michael Anthony Custom Builders, LLC, when he ripped off homeowners in Little Egg Harbor, Toms River, Ship Bottom, and Point Pleasant between July 2014 and August 2016.

He previously was sentenced to three years in prison, after pleading guilty in a separate case of cheating a homeowner in Brick Township out of more than $34,000.

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