Warrant: Unlicensed Contractor Arrested After Botched $28,000 New Canaan Heating Job

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New Canaan Police last week arrested a 27-year-old Waterbury man by warrant after he performed heating and cooling work without a license, following a monthslong investigation into a stalled home heating installation that a local woman said cost her tens of thousands of dollars.

Police on July 6 charged the man with acting as and offering services to perform heating and cooling work unlicensed, according to the affidavit of Officer Austin Malizia that forms the basis of an arrest warrant application signed June 18 by a state Superior Court judge.

The investigation began Dec. 11, 2025, when Malizia was dispatched to New Canaan Police headquarters on a report of fraud and met with the complainant, according to the warrant application. The complainant told police she had hired the man in April of 2025 to install heating units inside her home, and that he still had not finished the job. She said that about a week earlier, he had stopped communicating with her entirely, and that she had grown concerned about the quality of his work, since the first floor of her home had no heat, the affidavit said.

The complainant told police she brought in a technician from Cobra Heating and Cooling to inspect the work, and that the technician told her everything Fecanji had done was incorrect, according to the affidavit. Cobra, it turned out, was familiar with the arrested man and contacted the HVAC company he worked for, Tyler Heating, Air Conditioning, Refrigeration LLC. The complainant said she had not been aware that the man was doing the job privately and outside of the company, the affidavit said.

The complainant told police that the man had been fired from Tyler LLC as a result, and that during their final phone conversation, he texted her, “Thanks for getting me fired,” according to the affidavit. She showed police a folder of many text messages between herself and the contractor, along with a signed contract whose letterhead read “Fonsi Heating and Cooling, F&F Mechanical,” the affidavit said. The complainant said she paid him a total of $28,000 to complete the heating installation on the first and second floors of her home.

The complainant also told police she had found multiple “scammer alert” posts about the man on social media, including in a Facebook group for Connecticut contractors, describing similar instances in which he had been unprofessional and stopped responding to clients, according to the affidavit.

Police attempted to contact him on Dec. 13, 2025, but he did not answer, and his voicemail box was full, the affidavit said.

On Jan. 26, 2026, Malizia contacted Roger Guild, an occupational inspector with the state Department of Consumer Protection, and briefed him on the case, according to the affidavit. Guild told police he had run an in-house search for the man and found he held no licensure or certifications in Connecticut, which Guild said established probable cause for a violation of state statute covering unlicensed heating and cooling work, the affidavit said. Guild also requested a copy of the contract and a written statement from the complainant before providing an official statement for the case.

The complainant returned to police headquarters Feb. 28 with a sworn written statement along with supporting documentation, including copies of the contractor’s expired training and apprenticeship cards, two signed contract agreements, 58 pages of text message history between herself and the man, and two repair proposals with pricing from Tyler LLC, according to the affidavit. Police said the text messages, which spanned from May 31 to Nov. 21, 2025, were largely concerned with completion dates, part deliveries and the complainant’s concerns about a lack of communication.

The two Tyler LLC proposals detailed extensive repairs needed on both floors of the home, including removing and replacing ductwork, installing new return ducts and re-piping drains, all at a total cost of $18,896.75, which the complainant paid Dec. 15, 2025, the affidavit said.

Police made a second attempt to reach the man on March 11, and again were unable to leave a voicemail, according to the affidavit.

On April 27, 2026, Guild emailed police to confirm he had received all needed information, including a statement from a witness who had been present during much of the work on the property, as well as confirmation that an in-house credential search for the man had turned up no results in Connecticut, the affidavit said.

Based on the investigation, Malizia and Guild determined there was probable cause for the arrest, according to the affidavit.

Fecanji was arrested July 6 in New Canaan and was released after posting $25,000 bond, according to court records. He has not yet pleaded, according to Connecticut Judicial Branch records.

 

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