By Angela Marshall
It is not the first time such accusations have been made against Proos, who is sitting in Long Beach jail pending a parole violation hearing. Police, who said they suspected Proos' license was suspended, pulled his car over on Dec. 19. On further investigation, they learned that Proos' parole officer had put out a warrant for his arrest.
Proos, whose last known address was in Atlantic Beach, was convicted in March 1999 and sentenced to two-to-four years in prison for second-degree attempted assault and second-degree attempted forgery.
According to his parole officer, Diane Stella, the conviction was a plea bargain down from several more serious charges brought in July 1998. The original charges, third-degree grand larceny of $3,000, fourth-degree grand larceny of $7,000, forgery and falsifying business records, are similar to new complaints Stella started hearing in December.
When she found out Proos had given her a false address, Stella voided his parole and put out a nationwide warrant for his arrest.
Now Stella is meeting with residents and business owners who claim Proos, an unlicensed painter/carpenter, did them wrong. Several spoke with the Herald but asked that their names not be printed because of Proos' history of assaults. In addition to the attempted assault conviction that Proos was out on parole for, he was charged with resisting arrest on Dec. 19.
A representative from Cancos Tile in Lynbrook remembered Proos well. He said Proos used a $500 check from a Woodmere woman to purchase $200 worth of tile and wanted the rest in cash. The woman returned hysterical because he never showed up to do the job, the representative said.
In October, a Rockville Centre couple decided to hire the carpenter their new neighbors were using to renovate their home. It was Proos. He allegedly told them it would cost $1,275 to remove wallpaper and paint a bathroom and bedroom in their home. The couple gave him a $500 cash deposit and another $300 after Proos upped the estimate because of the paint color they had chosen. The work was never started.
Work was started at another home. This woman said she hired Proos in early December to repaint her house, put up clapboard and install storm windows. She gave him $3,000 up front on what she was told would be a $6,000 job. Proos and his workers showed up every day, but the woman said she began to get strange phone calls from people warning her about Proos. According to the woman, Proos said it was his estranged wife trying to ruin his business.
Soon after, Proos was gone. The job was barely started and Proos' workers were coming to the woman saying they hadn't been paid. To top it off, she said one of the workers left a gate open and the woman's dog escaped, was hit by a car and killed.
Not only did I lose money, but I lost my beloved dog, she said.
She hopes that if there are more people out there who were hurt by Proos they will come forward to make the case against him stronger.
Another Rockville Centre man said he heard about Proos through friends at work and hired him to put up brick pointing. He paid Proos $450 and never saw him again.
Like the others, the man is embarrassed that he gave Proos the money up front. The more you think about it, who asks for money before the work?
Proos has a record of convictions for robbery and petit larceny dating back to 1983.
Proos is scheduled for a parole violation hearing on Thursday, Jan. 31. Parole Officer Stella plans to ask for an adjournment so that new charges can be filed against Proos.
Anyone with information on Proos can contact Stella at (516) 485-2660.
