An unlicensed home improvement contractor is accused of swindling a Yorktown family out of thousands of dollars and threatening them with violence, police say.

Authorities say 62-year-old Joseph Fienga, the owner or Remodeling Resources in Monroe, received a $15,000 down payment in April for a building project, but failed to perform any work. When confronted by the homeowners, police say, he threatened them with a beating. Fienga was later arrested.

"We investigated and found he did not have a Westchester County home improvement license," says Lt. Kevin Soravilla, of the Yorktown Police Department.

"If you have an unlicensed contractor, you could hire someone who is not a good person, not someone who you would want to let in your house," Brown says.

"If you have an unlicensed contractor, you could hire someone who is not a good person, not someone who you would want to let in your house," Brown says.

Fienga was charged with second-degree aggravated harassment and with failure to have a contractor's license. He was released and is scheduled to appear before a judge in June.