citilife construction

Description of Work: Note that Masi World Construction also goes by Citilife Construction so you will find an identical review under both company names. I hired RJ Masi and his Citilife Construction, aka Masi World Construction, to do a complete renovation on a gutted condominium unit that I had purchased. Unfortunately, I discovered too late that he and his company were engaged in fraudulent, dishonest, and illegal activities. (His Florida contractor license was revoked because of this.) However, only during the course of the construction project by Citilife, did the scope and seriousness of the violations become evident, including working on the unit without a valid license or permit. The first suggestion that Masi World Construction was engaging in dubious activity was when he illegally withdrew $25,000 from thecredit card when only $5,000 had been authorized. When asked about the incident, the company reported that there were no funds available to return the money. It took him almost 2 months to return the money to us that he withdrew. It was obvious at this point that he was stealing from Peter to pay Paul. Another indication that Citilife/Masi World Construction was engaging in fraudulent practices was when early in the project, he had installed several incorrect toilets and fixtures in the bathrooms. When confronted, R.J. explained to us that he was planning on replacing them at the end of the project as that was standard practice in the industry. As we are now aware, there is no reasonable contractor who would spend time to attach fixtures knowing that they would all have to be replaced at a later date. At this point, it became 100% clear that we were dealing with a less than reputable company. When asked repeatedly why the project was taking so long, a new excuse was always prepared. First, R.J. Masi stated that his grandmother’s death and mother’s hospitalizations were the cause of the delay. He continued to create excuses for not finishing the work in a timely manner. Later, he said that marital issues were making it difficult for him to work on the unit. After exhausting familial and personal issues, he said that equipment theft by the company’s own electricians was responsible for the delays. In addition, the “California” closet that was supposed to have been installed was not the one as agreed upon. Citilife simply had several shelves and poles screwed to the wall. When asked, R.J. “explained” that “California can mean anything that you want it to mean.” Even though we had reviewed and given a copy of the California-style closet that was to be installed early in the project, this was completely disregarded.