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License to drill Buyer beware — some Maricopa contractors don’t play by the rules
Most wanted Parker isn’t the only unlicensed contractor flouting the law in Maricopa. He isn’t even the city’s most infamous. That honor goes to Donald Elliott Libby II, alias Donnie Noland, who is one of 20 people to ever be named AZROC’s Most Wanted. Between 2013 and 2021, Libby was the subject of at least 18 contractor fraud investigations in Arizona, according to AZROC. This con man from Phoenix made his living scamming people in that city and the West Valley — except for one. It was a lone crime he committed in Maricopa that landed him on the AZROC Most Wanted list, according to previously unreported court documents. Pinal County Superior Court issued a warrant for Libby in 2019 when he was wanted on charges of contracting without a license and failed to appear in court. The charges stemmed from an AZROC investigation that found Libby accepted $1,400 for a granite countertop installation on the mobile marketplace OfferUp and never returned to start the job or deliver materials. That led to Libby’s later conviction on felony theft charges, which were committed the previous year “in or near Maricopa,” according to a newly unsealed case file in county court. He was caught and sentenced to 18 months of probation in 2020. According to AZROC, last year, the 59-year-old had a new business name listed as NLD Handyman. He still advertises services in Maricopa. Concerned residents launched DonaldLibby. com last year as a public service announcement warning about “Don the Con” and his 15 known accomplices. The landing page is stocked with videos, news articles and court records. Fraud squad While others like Parker have undoubtedly yet to get busted by law enforcement, many more like Libby have been caught violating Arizona’s contractor laws in Maricopa. It appears flouting state contractor laws often goes hand- in-hand with more serious crimes. Take Glennwilde resident Cynthia Bueno Tapia, for example. She was charged with contracting without a license in 2019 and 2020, along with felony counts of fraud and aggravated identity theft. She pleaded guilty to contracting without a license in 2022 in a plea bargain.
BY ELIAS WEISS
I
N 2021, SORRENTO RESIDENT Elisa Olivarez wanted a new kitchen backsplash. She chose an oyster-white mosaic tile and
started shopping for a contractor to install it. Michael Scott Parker, with his Maricopa- based Copper State Home Renovations, was the man for the job. He gave her a hell of a deal, too. He even knocked a few bucks off the original estimate. “He wasn’t licensed at the time,” Olivarez recalled in a conversation with InMaricopa . “But he was working towards that.” Three years later, he’s still not licensed. He never was, according to the Arizona Registrar of Contractors. Ground rules Unlicensed contractors can build successful careers in Arizona, but they have to play by the rules — or face criminal charges. There are only two rules, and they’re quite simple: No jobs over $1,000, and every advertisement must display the exact phrase, “Not a Licensed Contractor.” In an analysis of Parker’s website, business cards and dozens of online advertisements, this crucial disclaimer doesn’t appear a single time. What does appear, though, is his motto: “No job too big or too small!” A job over $1,000, for Parker, would indeed be too big. At least according to Arizona law. That magic number must incorporate the costs of both labor and materials, per state law, even if the customer buys the materials. The law also states the work performed by an unlicensed contractor should be “casual” or “minor.” Parker recently took on such projects as pouring concrete patio slabs and a bathroom remodel. Not exactly minor or casual. Copper State Endeavors LLC, of which Parker is the sole proprietor, is listed as “other” under business type, according to the Arizona Corporation Commission. A review of other contractors in Maricopa found most were listed as “construction” or “handyman.” A conversation with Parker ended when InMaricopa asked if he was aware of the state’s contractor laws.
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Parker, 31, faced dozens of criminal charges in Texas and Arizona from 2012 to 2023. In 2013, he was charged with three counts of injuring a child and pleaded guilty. The following year, at age 22, he was charged with three counts of sexually assaulting a child. In 2015, he failed to register as a sex offender, which he was required to do for 10 years. Parker failed to appear in court so many times, he racked up $99,000 in penalties, according to records from the 36th District Court in Denton, Texas. He was arrested for possessing illegal drugs in Texas in 2017, and again in Arizona in 2022. In Maricopa, he was charged with criminal damage and fighting in 2021. Then for resisting arrest in 2022. He failed to appear in court four more times between 2021 and 2023. During those same years, he faced seven criminal charges for driving uninsured and with a revoked license. Throughout his criminal career, Parker has been found guilty or pleaded guilty nine times and has been ordered to pay $261,000 in court costs and fines, according to court records from Texas and Arizona. AZROC can disqualify a person based on his criminal record if there is a state interest in “protecting public safety that is superior to the person’s right” to licensure, especially if the person “is more likely to reoffend by virtue of having” the license than not. For example, working in private homes can provide access to children.
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There are only two rules, and they’re quite simple: No jobs over $1,000, and every advertisement must display
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the exact phrase, ‘Not a Licensed Contractor.’
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Background check Getting a contractor’s license in Arizona is pretty straightforward. Maybe that’s why there are more than 45,000 active licenses in the state, according to AZROC. All you need is an LLC, $131 in application fees, a successful background check and a passing score on a test proving cursory experience in the field. Parker has an LLC and plenty of experience. He probably has $131. It’s the background check where things start getting dicey. Parker’s criminal record is longer than a CVS receipt.
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InMaricopa.com | March 2024
March 2024 | InMaricopa.com
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