Jennifer and Tony DeLisi needed a new ceiling light for the kitchen of their home in the Level Green section of Penn Township.

Rather than buy it at "one of those big box stores," they decided to purchase it from Electra Lighting in North Huntingdon.

"We like to support local businesses," said Mrs. DeLisi, 34, a registered nurse who works part time at Westmoreland Regional Hospital. "We wanted to be good citizens."

It was a spur-of-the-moment purchase, and they knew nothing about the company or its owner, Michael Free, who also has a store in Monroeville. They now know Mr. Free has had dozens of complaints filed against him with the state attorney general's office and the Better Business Bureau.

And the way Mr. Free victimized the DeLisis is typical of the way he does business, according to the AG's office and the BBB.

The couple, who have three young sons, went to the North Huntingdon store Feb. 19, but didn't find anything they liked in his "limited selection" of ceiling lights. They ultimately selected one from a catalog.

Mr. Free said it was a "special order" that would arrive in six to eight weeks.

The light cost $238.50. They gave him a check for $140.

"We should have used a credit card so we would have had some recourse in the event of a problem," Mrs. DeLisi said. "And this became a real problem."

After waiting eight weeks, she called Mr. Free in late April. He was less than pleasant. "He told me to look at the receipt. It says special orders could take up to 16 weeks."

Since then, she has called numerous times. She said Mr. Free repeatedly promised to refund her money, but hasn't done so.

They last spoke on Dec. 11.

"He claimed he sent a refund check to our old address, which is two blocks away from where we live now, and then had to stop payment on it," she said. "He says anything you want to hear just to get you off the phone or out of the store."

The DeLisis aren't alone. The attorney general's office sued Mr. Free in 2007 on behalf of 23 other victims, including St. John the Baptist Church and the Monroeville Pet Hospital.

Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Gary P. Caruso ruled in their favor Sept. 4 and ordered Mr. Free to pay $10,713.01 in restitution within 120 days. That was for repeatedly doing what he had done to the DeLisis -- accepting money for merchandise that he never delivered and then refusing to provide refunds.

In addition, the judge ordered Mr. Free to pay $2,100 in civil penalties to the AG's office, also within 120 days -- this past Monday. He had held evidentiary hearings April 14, Aug. 11 and Aug. 12 and heard testimony from a number of victims.

In his ruling, the judge said Mr. Free and his company had violated the state's Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection law.

The order also requires Mr. Free to make additional restitution to any subsequent victims, such as the DeLisis. It also says Mr. Free risks the forfeiture of his right to do business if he fails to make any of the payments.

The DeLisis, who eventually bought a ceiling light from Home Depot, said they contacted the Post-Gazette because they don't want anyone else to make the mistake they did.

"I don't understand why Michael Free isn't in jail," Mrs. DeLisi said. "He has been victimizing consumers like us for years."

Mr. Free didn't returns calls.

Nils Fredericksen, of the attorney general's office, said it will ask the judge to hold Mr. Free in contempt for failing to make the payments. He said anyone else victimized by Mr. Free should go to www.attorneygeneral.gov to file a complaint or call 1-800-441-2555.

Please include your day, evening and/or cell phone numbers. Due to volume, he cannot respond to every e-mail and phone call.

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