On September 3, 2023, Mower County Sheriff’s Deputy Tom Mensink was dispatched to a residence in the 200 block of 4th Street NW in the City of Adams, Mower County for a theft report. Deputy Mensink spoke with Victim A (a 69-year old male) and his wife, Victim B (a 69-year old female). Victim A stated that their other residence, located south of 660th Avenue in Adams, needed repairs including, among other things, a steel roof, new decking, and a new door. Victim A said Vincent Roofing, located in Clear Lake, Iowa, had been recommended to him.
The owner of Vincent Roofing is VINCENT LEE CHMIELEWSKI, [DOB REDACTED], hereinafter the defendant. Victim A stated that on February 10, 2023, he and the defendant entered into an agreement, and the defendant gave him a work order which listed the work to be done and the price per job. The defendant told Victim A he needed the money up front and asked him for $15,000 in cash to pay his workers and purchase the materials from LeRoy Lumber. Victim A said he obtained $15,000 in cash from his bank, gave it to the defendant, and the defendant told him he would order all of the materials and begin work as soon as the materials arrived.
Victim A said that he and the defendant exchanged calls and text messages over the next few months, and the defendant told him that he was “back logged” but would start soon. After several months, Victim A contacted LeRoy Lumber and was told that they know the defendant but he had not ordered any materials yet for Victim A’s project. After additional calls and messages, Victim A demanded that the defendant return the $15,000 cash he had given him, and he would find someone else to do the work. The defendant continued to offer excuses as to why he could not do the job.
Victim A said that Victim B, his wife, also tried to talk to the defendant. Victim A told Deputy Mensink that the last time he or his wife had spoken to the defendant was August 21, 2023, and after 6 months, he felt the defendant had no intention of doing any work for him and swindled him out of the $15,000. Deputy Mensink called the defendant several times and sent text messages but never made contact with the defendant. On September 14, 2023, Mower County Sheriff’s Investigator Tom Brogan reviewed the report and evidence obtained by Deputy Mensink.
Investigator Brogan observed a check, paid to the order of the defendant and signed by Victim A in the amount of $15,000. The check was dated February 10, 2023. Investigator Brogan spoke with Victim B, and Victim B said Victim A and the defendant took the check to their bank, cashed it, and gave the defendant the $15,000 in cash as he had requested. Investigator Brogan also reviewed the work order which acknowledged the payment of $15,000 as well as a bank statement showing the check was cashed on February 10, 2023. Investigator Brogan also attempted contact with the defendant by calling him and texting him, but none of his attempts were successful.
