Mejia Masonry

Told contractor time was of the essence.  He said "it should take two to three weeks, probably two & a half weeks."  I said I agree to your price if you can do it within 3 weeks.  I said I will give you a bonus if you can complete it in two weeks.  Contractor said he needed half down which I should have balked at, but I gave it to him.  Next day, no show.  Next day, started at 11am, left at 4pm, with an hour lunch. 
Similar occurrences throughout the next 3 weeks.  No show, or late show, and leave early.
I am 60 years old and have never had to throw someone off a job before, but at the end of three weeks he had done 45% of the work and had drawn 75% of the contract price.  And the work was a mess.  Mortar on the house, on the stone faces, mismatched mortar color, cracks in the mortar joints, trash all over.  So I told him to get his equipment and get off the property.
I think there would have been trouble, but I had called the sheriff earlier, explained the situation and my feeling there would be trouble, and the sheriff was good enough to come out when I told him to leave.  An ounce of prevention is worth a lb of cure.
If you use this man for masonry work, I hope you have a much better experience than I did.