More claims, more charges
for roofer brothers

By Lauren Fritsky
Times Staff Writer

Mark and Gary Trager get a "10" for their roofing work.
But the number doesn’t imply perfection. Rather, it represents the number of additional victims who have come forward claiming the brothers defrauded them on home repairs.
The Tragers, 51, who own Santini Contractors, at 8933 Dewees St., were arrested and slapped with 10 more counts of fraud last week for allegedly taking deposits and then doing shoddy roofing work or no work at all.
Police officers from the 8th district rearrested Gary Trager on Thursday night. Mark Trager turned himself in to police Friday morning. The pair, who are identical twin brothers, had been arrested Feb. 6 in connection with five other cases.
In each case, the Tragers took deposits ranging from several hundred dollars to $2,000 and then avoided calls from concerned customers who had inquired about the unfinished work, police said. All told, the Tragers allegedly stole about $8,000 from their victims, who live throughout the city and in Delaware County.
"It is our belief that they did have the intent to swindle these people out of their deposit money," Detective Anthony Vega of South Detectives said during a news conference on Friday. His unit is handling the case because the first victim to complain to police lives in that area.
In addition to the victims involved in the criminal charges, there are others whose cases aren’t included because of the five-year state statute of limitations on fraud. The cases date back to the mid-’90s, Vega said.
Of the 15 victims involved in the criminal case, seven are over age 60, Vega said.
"I think it’s despicable, especially because of the elderly people that were involved," Vega said of the case. "All of them expressed how tight they were on money."
Vega lauded the news media for their role in alerting potential victims to the brothers’ alleged scam. The Northeast Times first profiled the case in its March 22 issue. Two other media outlets have also been following the story.
Vega believes other victims may be out there.
"I think it may go much bigger," he said of the case. "There might be victims who are embarrassed to come forward or feel like they’re not going to get their money back."
The Tragers face 15 counts of six felony charges, Vega said. Police are currently looking into whether they defrauded additional victims while operating under the name Santini Roofing Inc. or other company names.
A preliminary hearing for the Tragers is set for Monday at the Criminal Justice Center.
Anyone else with information on Santini Contractors or Santini Roofing is asked to call South Detectives at 215-686-3013. ••
Reporter Lauren Fritsky can be reached at 215-354-3038 or lfritsky@phillynews.com