Roofer brothers
to face trial on charges

By Lauren Fritsky
Times Staff Writer

Patricia Kellam thought family ties would ensure that Santini Contractors performed a proper roofing job on one of her properties in January 2003.
Mark Trager operates the business, on Dewees Street near Welsh Road, with his twin brother Gary. Mark Trager is married to the sister of Kellam’s brother-in-law.
But Kellam said that after paying Mark Trager $1,000, he never fixed the roof on a property she owns on the 2600 block of Castor Ave. Instead of getting repairs, Kellam, a Parkwood resident, said she got a heap of excuses from Mark Trager.
"He was sick. There was snow. He got tied up someplace else. It was excuse after excuse," she said.
Kellam was one of 11 victims to testify against Mark and Gary Trager, both 51, during a preliminary hearing Monday resulting from criminal charges brought against the roofers. A judge ruled that the Tragers will go to trial on the charges.
The complainants, several of whom are senior citizens, claim that the brothers took their deposits and either made shoddy roof repairs or none at all. The pair are charged with theft, deceptive business practices and other related charges in a total of 15 cases throughout the city and in Delaware County.
"Their intent was to take the money and use it for whatever they wanted to use it for," said Assistant District Attorney Andrew Notaristefano.
The Tragers sat shaking their heads during some points of the nearly three-hour hearing, but made no statements. Their lawyer, Tim Tarpey, said that the brothers are good workers who fell upon hard times that included serious health problems.
Victims said that health was indeed one of the reasons the Tragers gave for not completing work. Other excuses, the victims said, included poor weather or packed schedules. After a while, the Tragers stopped making excuses — by not picking up the phone or returning calls, some victims said.
When several victims got fed up with waiting for the work and demanded their deposit money instead, promises of repayment were not honored, they claim.
Parkwood resident Joseph Winkis, 72, said he paid Gary Trager $275 in cash to do shingle work on his roof last June. He had used Santini Contractors before and had been satisfied, Winkis said.
But when excuses like the rain and the heat lingered well after the summer months ended, Winkis suspected something was amiss.
"I said (to the Tragers), ‘I think you guys are scamming me,’" Winkis said.
Several other complainants stated that they had used Santini Contractors before or had been referred to the roofing firm through friends.
But to Winkis and some other victims, the company’s once-favorable track record didn’t matter.
"I don’t care about that work," Winkis said. "They jilted me out of this work."
Several victims said they took matters to civil court. In some cases, the Tragers were ordered to pay full or partial restitution, which some victims say they did receive. One victim said she received compensation after Gary Trager re-mortgaged his house.
Rosebud Cameron, an 86-year-old South Philadelphia resident credited with launching the criminal investigation last year, said that she was awarded almost half of her $1,095 deposit through Small Claims Court. She believes that Santini Contractors did a shoddy job repairing her leaking roof in April 2000.
Santini Contractors was ordered to pay Cameron $504, but she never saw the money, she said.
"One of them called me and said he was putting it into the mail, which I never received," Cameron said.
After the testimony of victims, Judge Marsha Neifeld held the Tragers for court on all charges, six of which are graded as felonies, but merged them under one count instead of 11. Additional testimony is scheduled to continue with four other victims on May 21.
Notaristefano said he is pleased that the charges will go to trial.
"It’s a strong case," the prosecutor said.
Gary Trager declined comment after the hearing, but Mark Trager said that he has treated his customers well during his 27 years as a roofer.
"I always did the right thing," he said.
Tarpey, his attorney, believes that the Tragers still possess those good intentions.
"I don’t think that these guys are the thieves they’re made out to be," he said. ••
Reporter Lauren Fritsky can be reached at 215-354-3038 or lfritsky@phillynews.com