We contracted ADE Construction in March 2014 for a full remodelling job on our condo unit in Miami. We were visited by a person by the name of Greg from German decent, who went over the plans and drew up an offer. We foolishly agreed to a reasonable budget, and paid them in full (over $20,000.00), which included custom bathroom furniture built. We were later visited by a lady who went over the design plans and samples, and later on by Anthony DiSimone (license nr CGC 022694) for all the necessary permits.
They disappeared for a few months, blaming permit delays, until they finally commenced work in May 2014. They performed the demolishing work, and after a few further delays we were also visited by the "project manager" Tony Petrucelli, in order to get the project going in the right track again. By that point (early June 2014) we still had confidence as they kept answering our calls, but were very inefficient in performing the work. They changed conditions on the original contract, such as not supplying certain materials for the floor insulation, and asking for parking money for the area.
The project kept getting assigned different workers, who showed up sporadically at the apartment, did piecewise jobs, broke furniture, installed some tiles incorrectly, and even stole property from the apartment. By July 2014 the situation became a nightmare, ADE would not respond, and the work seemed far away from being completed. Keep in mind that we had to find alternative accomodation for the 4-5 months our apartment was uninhabitable, and we were becoming desperate. We were forced to hire a lawyer at great expense, and they briefly responded to the firm, by showing up for a brief few sessions of additional tiling work.
Since September they have completley disappeared on us, do not return our calls, and do not reply to our lawyers communications. We estimated they left the job at 20% completion, some done poorly. We had to hire a second contractor to fix their mess and finish the job, as we had no other alternative. Our lawyers claim they filed reports against Anthony DiSimone, but we have not heard anything else since. We are quite desperate in that we've lost all our money, and our remodelling work not only ended up costing more than twice our original plans, but ADE workers stole from the property as well. We are not sure if there's any hope in getting our money back, but we're trying to the best of our abilities in tracking down Anthony DiSimone and accomplices for the blatant contract breach and theft. We do not want any kind of business with Anthony DiSimone nor any of his people, and would only like to recover as much of the money they stole from us as possible.
We would be very grateful if you could share your experiences in tracking this people down and any help you can provide us as to our way forward. We are looking into all sorts of legal councel, but your experience in these matters is welcomed.
Let this be a warning against hiring ADE Construction (Ft. Lauderdale) for a home remodeling project!! When we checked on ADE's reputation, everything seemed to be in order and aboveboard. Since then (Fall 2013), the Internet has been peppered with complaints just like ours. (For example, see the South Florida Better Business Bureau site. Although most of the complaints to the BBB are now deleted, it states that it has revoked ADE's accreditation due to a large number of consumer reports against the company. http://www.bbb.org/south-east-florida.)
ADE and the people behind it -- license-holder Anthony DiSimone and contractor "John" Gregor Kohn -- deserve to be put out of business and behind bars. ADE literally took our money (thousands borrowed from the bank, no less) and then failed to perform the work for which we had paid.
Our trouble began with daughter Chelsea Kohn who made up some feeble excuses regarding the delays in obtaining permits. We never had confidence in her "design", which looked like a childish drawing. Getting ADE to schedule our two projects -- each a bathroom remodeling -- was close to impossible. In several instances, the work was shoddy and the workers made a mess of our home and patio -- a mess they never cleaned up.
Our written "agreement" specified that the 1st project would be completed by Thanksgiving and the 2nd by Christmas. We were very specific about this with "John" Kohn and explained that we had out-of-town company coming for both holidays and thus would need all facilities available. ADE simply ignored us after it took our checks. We had to put our visitors up in hotels. Our holidays were ruined by ADE and its fraudulent, lying ways.
ADE is the most uncooperative and dishonest company we have ever dealt with. We had to call every morning to find out if we would have workers on site. The office staff often told us to expect a worker but then no one showed up. It was a big brush-off. Coordination was completely lacking. The so-called "project manager", Tony Petrucelli, was arrogant, rude and bordered on threatening. When he came to our home and demanded more money -- in advance of what our written "agreement" required -- we refused because so little work had been done in 3+ months. In retaliation, he pulled the entire crew off our first project just one week before Christmas and left us with a huge and horrible mess, including a toilet sitting next to our pool and no outisde door to the cabana bathroom.
Needless to say, we had to hire another contractor to finish the 1st project and to do the 2d one. This piled more expenses on us, including new permits and the cabinets for which we had paid but ADE never ordered.
We alerted Anthony DiSimone via certified mail on two occasions as to what Kohn was doing under the auspices of his license. He signed for the letters but ignored us. DiSimone holds a General Contractor License from the State of Florida which is up for renewal in August 2014. We have filed a complaint with the Florida Dept. of Business & Professional Regulation, seeking the revocation of his license. If your experience is similar to ours, you may also file a complaint. See www.MyFloridalicense.com.
I have experienced the most dramatic and painful headache of dealing with construction fraud first hand. ADE Construction is holding $5,500 advance money for no work performed. Scam artist Gregg Kohn, who also goes by John Muller and other names. Gregg Kohn on behalf of ADE took an initial deposit of 3,000, for remodeling of bathroom and kitchen. Shortly thereafter demanded an additional $2,500 for materials that were never even specified. When basic paperwork needed to file for permits took over three weeks to get signed by the GC was intrigued. I payed them a visit in their modest office in Broward County Notary Public Chelsea Kohn handed me the paperwork signed and notarized dated a day after she had been to my property as the" designer" of the company. Three weeks had passed since. Three weeks during which she kept saying the paperwork was not signed yet. She is a liar more than she is a designer. . They are not legit. I think she was casted to play two characters in this "Construction Impersonator Drama" She should not be in possession of a Notary Seal, she does not have the integrity needed. She should not design . She is rough like a truck driver and does not have the finesse needed. I did not like that lady. I knew something was rotten that day at their office. I then read learned about construction scams and ADE showed all the signs. Delays are calculated and frequent, Answers are ambiguous and phone calls not returned. I researched Gregg Kohn previous companies. Disaster! A background check revealed that Gregg Kohn had several dozens of construction fraud cases filed agains him He appears to have impersonated a contractor for over 20 years. Twenty years stealing. Somehow he is still not behind bars. Daughter/Designer/Notary Chelsea Kohn modifies dates of documents she notarizes where she should be modifying kitchens and baths. She belongs behind bars as well. Contractor Anthony Di Simone appeared to be shocked when I alerted him of who his associates were and what they were doing. Then continued filing permits for new "projects" several months after allegedly "learning" of the irregularities The scam works....next they ask for more and more money while no work is performed and when the owner stops releasing funds because there is no progress a lien is placed on the property for the balance of the contract. No job is ever finished. That is the testimony of the people that had hired Kohn before, under different company names. Notices of Commencement and Permits are used as legal weapons to fight homeowners trying to get any money back. Umbelievable To protect myself I stopped all permits before they were issued. Permits had been delayed as they seem to purposely make mistakes so Permits are rejected many times, Homeowners nightmare. I realized I had come across very skilled criminals and could not afford to take any chances. Money for all permits was lost as well. Sumarizing, I want my money back. There are no Permit,s no Notice of commencement and no work was ever performed. More importantly, the "contract" is invalid. There are no specifications or description of any kind. There is only an estimate handwritten by Mr Kohn , a scribble impossible to figure out. Still ADE refuses to refund the money. No shame! I have sued ADE for the total of the money withheld of $5,500.00. Mr Di Simone was alerted of what was going on. Di Simone personally processed multiple permits in Miami Beach Building Department for a long time after I had talked to him. He should be accountable. The Bureau should take the license and justice find Di Simone liable for losses caused to consumers. Someone should determined if this fraud went on under his watch while in oblivion or with his blessings. Either way, shame on Mr Di Simone. Wether lack of ability of ethics,, what a huge disappointment on ADE. I was so happy to remodel my little one bedroom with borrowed money! PS. It appears like Kohn has a new company: Accurate Remodel .accurateremodel.com
A. D. E. Construction, Inc. Reviews
We contracted ADE Construction in March 2014 for a full remodelling job on our condo unit in Miami. We were visited by a person by the name of Greg from German decent, who went over the plans and drew up an offer. We foolishly agreed to a reasonable budget, and paid them in full (over $20,000.00), which included custom bathroom furniture built. We were later visited by a lady who went over the design plans and samples, and later on by Anthony DiSimone (license nr CGC 022694) for all the necessary permits.
They disappeared for a few months, blaming permit delays, until they finally commenced work in May 2014. They performed the demolishing work, and after a few further delays we were also visited by the "project manager" Tony Petrucelli, in order to get the project going in the right track again. By that point (early June 2014) we still had confidence as they kept answering our calls, but were very inefficient in performing the work. They changed conditions on the original contract, such as not supplying certain materials for the floor insulation, and asking for parking money for the area.
The project kept getting assigned different workers, who showed up sporadically at the apartment, did piecewise jobs, broke furniture, installed some tiles incorrectly, and even stole property from the apartment. By July 2014 the situation became a nightmare, ADE would not respond, and the work seemed far away from being completed. Keep in mind that we had to find alternative accomodation for the 4-5 months our apartment was uninhabitable, and we were becoming desperate. We were forced to hire a lawyer at great expense, and they briefly responded to the firm, by showing up for a brief few sessions of additional tiling work.
Since September they have completley disappeared on us, do not return our calls, and do not reply to our lawyers communications. We estimated they left the job at 20% completion, some done poorly. We had to hire a second contractor to fix their mess and finish the job, as we had no other alternative. Our lawyers claim they filed reports against Anthony DiSimone, but we have not heard anything else since. We are quite desperate in that we've lost all our money, and our remodelling work not only ended up costing more than twice our original plans, but ADE workers stole from the property as well. We are not sure if there's any hope in getting our money back, but we're trying to the best of our abilities in tracking down Anthony DiSimone and accomplices for the blatant contract breach and theft. We do not want any kind of business with Anthony DiSimone nor any of his people, and would only like to recover as much of the money they stole from us as possible.
We would be very grateful if you could share your experiences in tracking this people down and any help you can provide us as to our way forward. We are looking into all sorts of legal councel, but your experience in these matters is welcomed.
Let this be a warning against hiring ADE Construction (Ft. Lauderdale) for a home remodeling project!! When we checked on ADE's reputation, everything seemed to be in order and aboveboard. Since then (Fall 2013), the Internet has been peppered with complaints just like ours. (For example, see the South Florida Better Business Bureau site. Although most of the complaints to the BBB are now deleted, it states that it has revoked ADE's accreditation due to a large number of consumer reports against the company. http://www.bbb.org/south-east-florida.)
ADE and the people behind it -- license-holder Anthony DiSimone and contractor "John" Gregor Kohn -- deserve to be put out of business and behind bars. ADE literally took our money (thousands borrowed from the bank, no less) and then failed to perform the work for which we had paid.
Our trouble began with daughter Chelsea Kohn who made up some feeble excuses regarding the delays in obtaining permits. We never had confidence in her "design", which looked like a childish drawing. Getting ADE to schedule our two projects -- each a bathroom remodeling -- was close to impossible. In several instances, the work was shoddy and the workers made a mess of our home and patio -- a mess they never cleaned up.
Our written "agreement" specified that the 1st project would be completed by Thanksgiving and the 2nd by Christmas. We were very specific about this with "John" Kohn and explained that we had out-of-town company coming for both holidays and thus would need all facilities available. ADE simply ignored us after it took our checks. We had to put our visitors up in hotels. Our holidays were ruined by ADE and its fraudulent, lying ways.
ADE is the most uncooperative and dishonest company we have ever dealt with. We had to call every morning to find out if we would have workers on site. The office staff often told us to expect a worker but then no one showed up. It was a big brush-off. Coordination was completely lacking. The so-called "project manager", Tony Petrucelli, was arrogant, rude and bordered on threatening. When he came to our home and demanded more money -- in advance of what our written "agreement" required -- we refused because so little work had been done in 3+ months. In retaliation, he pulled the entire crew off our first project just one week before Christmas and left us with a huge and horrible mess, including a toilet sitting next to our pool and no outisde door to the cabana bathroom.
Needless to say, we had to hire another contractor to finish the 1st project and to do the 2d one. This piled more expenses on us, including new permits and the cabinets for which we had paid but ADE never ordered.
We alerted Anthony DiSimone via certified mail on two occasions as to what Kohn was doing under the auspices of his license. He signed for the letters but ignored us. DiSimone holds a General Contractor License from the State of Florida which is up for renewal in August 2014. We have filed a complaint with the Florida Dept. of Business & Professional Regulation, seeking the revocation of his license. If your experience is similar to ours, you may also file a complaint. See www.MyFloridalicense.com.
A D E Construction Inc
I have experienced the most dramatic and painful headache of dealing with construction fraud first hand. ADE Construction is holding $5,500 advance money for no work performed. Scam artist Gregg Kohn, who also goes by John Muller and other names. Gregg Kohn on behalf of ADE took an initial deposit of 3,000, for remodeling of bathroom and kitchen. Shortly thereafter demanded an additional $2,500 for materials that were never even specified. When basic paperwork needed to file for permits took over three weeks to get signed by the GC was intrigued. I payed them a visit in their modest office in Broward County Notary Public Chelsea Kohn handed me the paperwork signed and notarized dated a day after she had been to my property as the" designer" of the company. Three weeks had passed since. Three weeks during which she kept saying the paperwork was not signed yet. She is a liar more than she is a designer. . They are not legit. I think she was casted to play two characters in this "Construction Impersonator Drama" She should not be in possession of a Notary Seal, she does not have the integrity needed. She should not design . She is rough like a truck driver and does not have the finesse needed. I did not like that lady. I knew something was rotten that day at their office. I then read learned about construction scams and ADE showed all the signs. Delays are calculated and frequent, Answers are ambiguous and phone calls not returned. I researched Gregg Kohn previous companies. Disaster! A background check revealed that Gregg Kohn had several dozens of construction fraud cases filed agains him He appears to have impersonated a contractor for over 20 years. Twenty years stealing. Somehow he is still not behind bars. Daughter/Designer/Notary Chelsea Kohn modifies dates of documents she notarizes where she should be modifying kitchens and baths. She belongs behind bars as well. Contractor Anthony Di Simone appeared to be shocked when I alerted him of who his associates were and what they were doing. Then continued filing permits for new "projects" several months after allegedly "learning" of the irregularities The scam works....next they ask for more and more money while no work is performed and when the owner stops releasing funds because there is no progress a lien is placed on the property for the balance of the contract. No job is ever finished. That is the testimony of the people that had hired Kohn before, under different company names. Notices of Commencement and Permits are used as legal weapons to fight homeowners trying to get any money back. Umbelievable To protect myself I stopped all permits before they were issued. Permits had been delayed as they seem to purposely make mistakes so Permits are rejected many times, Homeowners nightmare. I realized I had come across very skilled criminals and could not afford to take any chances. Money for all permits was lost as well. Sumarizing, I want my money back. There are no Permit,s no Notice of commencement and no work was ever performed. More importantly, the "contract" is invalid. There are no specifications or description of any kind. There is only an estimate handwritten by Mr Kohn , a scribble impossible to figure out. Still ADE refuses to refund the money. No shame! I have sued ADE for the total of the money withheld of $5,500.00. Mr Di Simone was alerted of what was going on. Di Simone personally processed multiple permits in Miami Beach Building Department for a long time after I had talked to him. He should be accountable. The Bureau should take the license and justice find Di Simone liable for losses caused to consumers. Someone should determined if this fraud went on under his watch while in oblivion or with his blessings. Either way, shame on Mr Di Simone. Wether lack of ability of ethics,, what a huge disappointment on ADE. I was so happy to remodel my little one bedroom with borrowed money! PS. It appears like Kohn has a new company: Accurate Remodel .accurateremodel.com