West Hartford police have arrested a Bloomfield man they say collected $40,500 up front from two homeowners for home improvement work that was never finished (via We-Ha). Richard Kiely, 35, who did business as Imperial Construction and Masonry, was taken into custody Nov. 5.
He's charged with two counts of second-degree larceny, two counts of impersonating a registered home improvement contractor, and two counts of improper notice in a sales agreement, according to police. Kiely posted a combined $38,000 surety bond on the two cases and is due to be arraigned Nov. 19 in Hartford Superior Court.
The charges are accusations, and Kiely is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court. Neither We-Ha nor NBC Connecticut, which also reported the arrest, included a comment from Kiely, the company or a lawyer representing him.
The case started in March 2025, when West Hartford police learned of two possible incidents in which homeowners had paid in advance for work Imperial Construction and Masonry was supposed to complete. It was sent to the department's Detective Division. Lt. Ryan Riley told We-Ha by email that detectives conducted a "thorough and extensive investigation" that ran several months before the arrest.
Police haven't released what kind of work was involved in either job, how the $40,500 split between the two homeowners, or exactly what conduct is behind each count. Police asked anyone with information to call the department's anonymous tip line at 860-570-8969 or email whpdtips@westhartfordct.gov.
Two of the three charges tie directly to rules every Connecticut remodeler works under. Anyone doing home improvement work in the state needs an active Home Improvement Contractor registration with the Department of Consumer Protection, and DCP says working without one is illegal. Homeowners can check a contractor's status on the state's eLicense site.
The state also requires a written contract for every home improvement job, including changes. According to DCP, the contract has to carry the contractor's HIC registration number and four dates: when it was signed, when work starts, when it's expected to be done, and the last day the homeowner can cancel. A Notice of Right to Cancel has to be attached in duplicate near the customer's signature. Homeowners get until midnight on the third business day to back out, with Saturday counting as a business day. Both sides sign and date the contract, and the customer gets a completed copy.
The problem is a big one in Connecticut. In a May release, DCP said its Investigations Division received 1,266 home improvement complaints the prior year, and that its investigations led to $4.19 million in restitution from offenders. The state's Home Improvement Guaranty Fund paid out another $3 million to eligible consumers in 2025. DCP Commissioner Bryan T. Cafferelli said at the time that "being aware of deceptive tactics can help save you thousands of dollars, and a huge headache."
Why it matters for Contractors
Arrests like this one make homeowners warier about handing over a deposit, and registered contractors are in a good spot to answer their questions. Put your HIC number on your estimates, contracts and truck, and point customers to eLicense so they can look you up before they sign.
It's also worth pulling out your contract template and checking it against DCP's list: registration number, all four dates, and the cancellation notice attached in duplicate. A missing date or a bad notice is easy to fix on paper now, and a lot harder to explain later. On deposits, keep what you collect in line with the job's real early costs and document what it pays for, so a customer never has to wonder where the money went.