Monroe County contractor fined nearly $85K for shoddy paving

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A 2010 Pocono Record story investigated the poor workmanship of John Croughin. This Price Township driveway was contracted to be paved 20 feet wide. Croughin paved it less than 13 feet.Pocono Record file photo

July 25, 2014

A Monroe County contractor has been ordered to pay nearly $85,000 in restitution and other costs after accepting payments from 14 homeowners and then doing shoddy or incomplete work, according to a lawsuit filed by the state Attorney General's Office's Bureau of Consumer Protection.

Monroe County Court Judge Art Zulick ordered John Croughin, formerly of East Stroudsburg and owner of J&J Paving, Sealcoating & Landscaping, to pay $41,010 in restitution to the state, which will then break that into smaller amounts to be disbursed among the homeowners.

Croughin is one of eight contractors sued by the state for violating the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law and Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act.

The lawsuit stems from homeowners, including Bushkill, Tobyhanna, East Stroudsburg, Blakeslee and Stroudsburg residents, who complained in 2010 of Croughin's poor work.

A Stroud Township resident brought these complaints to the Attorney General's Office.

In 2010, the Pocono Record spotlighted complaints about his work. The common link among the complaints? Poor workmanship. Unfinished jobs. Material shortages.

One 77-year-old Hamilton Township homeowner paid $4,000 to have his driveway paved. Croughin's crew ran out of materials, and they never returned.

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Monroe County contractor fined nearly $85K for shoddy paving