Chris Cinquemani, 35, says he spent his life savings building a 2,300-square-foot house of his dreams on five acres in Campbell Hall. Just days before the work on Coleman Drive was supposed to be complete, however, the homeowner says someone broke in and caused tens of thousands of dollars in damages.
“I was pretty devastated, pretty upset,” says Cinquemani. “I think that’s kind of really low to do that to somebody. A child does that.”
Cinquemani says he found gallons of paint dumped on his new hardwood floors, on stair treads, walls and doors, along with orange spray paint on his stone fireplace and walls in December. The homeowner says his walls and wire railings were also slashed and cut, and his plumbing was damaged by paint poured down drains and his toilet.
Cinquemani says whoever broke in used a nail gun to damage his kitchen drain, causing a leak and water damage in his basement.
He’s cleaned up and fixed a lot of the damages so far, and believes someone disabled one of his cameras, broke in and vandalized the residence when no one was there.
“Somebody that has an issue goes to court. You work it out if there’s a disagreement. You don’t break into somebody’s house and destroy their items,” Cinquemani says.
The homeowner says whoever vandalized the three-bedroom, three-bathroom property left behind fingerprints and shoe prints in the paint, which he says state police have as evidence.
Cinquemani says the vandalism has delayed his move-in date since crews are busy fixing damages instead of finishing the job.
State police confirm the incident was reported Dec. 8 and that they are investigating.