A Windsor man was sentenced on 16 charges, include doing unsafe electrical work and advertising to do electrical work without an electrical contractor's licence.
Roberto Spada was placed on two years of probation, is required to perform 75 hours of community service, and pay $27,085 in restitution to his victims and fines of $500.
"Just because someone runs an ad online saying they can do electrical work does not mean they legally can," said Normand Breton, ESA's registrar and director of contractor licensing. "Regardless of where you find someone offering electrical work, you must always verify that they are actually licensed as an electrical contractor in Ontario.”
In 2013 the Electrical Safety Authority received information that Spada, who is not licensed to conduct electrical work for hire in Ontario, was doing electrical work at multiple locations and was advertising his electrical services on the online classified site Kijiji.
After an investigation, ESA charged Spada with leaving a hazardous electrical condition (two counts); not having an electrical contractor's licence (six counts); proposing to carry out services of an electrical contractor without the necessary electrical contracting licence (two counts); and failure to apply for an electrical inspection (six counts).
Spada pleaded guilty to all charges.
"Not only did Mr. Spada not have the required contractor's licence, he also left unsafe situations behind," said Breton.
In Ontario, only Licensed Electrical Contractors are legally allowed to conduct electrical work for hire.
