One reason why it's so important for consumers to do their homework before hiring a contractor became glaringly apparent in the small courtroom of District Judge Charles A. McLaughlin.

One witness after another, most of them senior citizens, testified during a two-hour hearing yesterday that contractor Edward Ross had taken their money, done little or no work and then disappeared. If he did answer his phone, he had one excuse after another why he hadn't returned.

His truck broke down. He hurt his foot. He injured his back. His workers didn't show up. He was too busy with another job. There was a sick child in the family.

Anthony Russano, 70, of Ross, said he responded to an ad Mr. Ross had in a weekly shopper. He paid Mr. Ross $2,000 in July 2002 to take down a retaining wall and build a new one. He started the work and never finished, even after Mr. Russano bought the more than 1,200 concrete blocks needed to complete the job.

"I learned a lesson," said Mr. Russano, a retired laborer.

Diane Cronin of Shaler testified that she and her husband, Bob, also saw Mr. Ross' ad in a shopper. They paid him $750 in July 2003 to replace three front steps and some chimney bricks. They said he and a worker set up some rusty scaffolding and left to get more. They never returned.

Mr. Cronin, 48, called the bank to stop payment on the check, but it was too late. Mr. Ross already had cashed it. The Cronins sued to recover the $750 plus court costs. District Judge Robert P. Dzvonick ruled in their favor. When Mr. Ross' wife, Tamra, pulled two $100 bills out of her purse, the judge advised the Cronins to take it. They did, but are still owed $550.

The Cronins took down the scaffolding so children wouldn't climb on it. Almost five years later, it's still in their back yard.

In the spring of 2007, Erma Lucas, 79, of Ross, gave Mr. Ross checks totaling $16,500 toward the cost of a new two-car garage. He started the job and never finished it. When she reached him by phone, he said he'd be out the next day. He wasn't. The garage remains unfinished.

Ruth Raimondo, 87, of the North Side, paid $600 to Mr. Ross in April 2007 toward the cost of a new retaining wall in her back yard. The work was started but never finished. When she was able to reach Mr. Ross by phone, she said he told her not to worry. "I'm not going to cheat you," she quoted him as saying. "I never cheat the elderly."

Contractors like Mr. Ross usually escape criminal prosecution by bringing materials to a job site or doing a minimal amount of work. Victims seeking reimbursement have to sue them, a process that can be expensive and time-consuming. If they win, they often can't collect because the contractors don't have anything of value in their names.

But Judge McLaughlin ruled that Mr. Ross' take-the-money-and-run conduct constituted a pattern of criminal activity.

The judge ordered Mr. Ross held for court on 14 counts of theft by deception and 14 counts of failure to make required disposition of funds received.

Mr. Ross declined to comment after the judge's ruling.

Assistant District Attorney William J. Becker prosecuted the case based on the investigative work of Detective Patricia Copanzzi of the district attorney's office.

If you have a complaint about Mr. Ross or any other contractor, contact the state Bureau of Consumer Protection at www.attorneygeneral.gov or 1-800-441-2555 and the Better Business Bureau at www.pittsburgh.bbb.org or 412-456-2700.