High-profile company shuts downAtlantic Air touted mold protection; workers unpaid By Glenn Smith (Contact)
The Post and Courier
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Pero MOUNT PLEASANT — A company that pledged to protect Lowcountry homes from the dangers of mold abruptly closed its doors this week, leaving behind stunned workers who say they are owed thousands of dollars in back pay. Atlantic Air, run by a registered sex offender who was involved in a mysterious July shooting in Charleston, began making a splash in the region about a year ago, running full-page ads in The Post and Courier and other newspapers screaming "Mold Alert!" The ads promised to rid homes of this health menace and offered free inspections and air-duct cleanings at discount rates. Subcontractors say the company's bold presence belied deep financial troubles that left workers unpaid for at least three weeks. Mike Mueller, a Columbia-based subcontractor who worked as a field supervisor for the company, said Edward Pero of Atlantic Air promised workers last week that he would make good on their back wages Monday. When they arrived for work, the company's rented offices on Johnnie Dodds Boulevard were stripped clean and Pero was nowhere to be found. Now he won't return their calls, said Mueller, who said he is owed about $3,000. Workers filed a report with Mount Pleasant police, but officers said there is little they can do, as the case essentially is a civil matter. Subcontractor Billy Davis said he is owed more than $7,000. He also wonders how the company's demise will affect the two-year guarantees customers received on the work they shelled out thousands of dollars for. Pero, 42, told The Post and Courier that he is being unfairly blamed for the company's troubles, and he is working to make sure everyone gets the money and guarantees they are entitled to. "There is no way I am going to leave people high and dry," he said. Pero said his ex-girlfriend, Karen Kaplewicz, was the actual owner and he handled marketing. She sold the business and its sister company, Envirokleen of Columbia, to another man in January, he said. Pero provided some marketing help but had been away from the company for a number of months as he recuperated from health problems in New York, he said. Pero said the new owner begged him to come back a couple of weeks ago after a host of equipment thefts, missing receipts and other problems left the company about $500,000 in debt. "I tried to salvage it, but it was too far gone," Pero said. "It was just a very negative environment." A third man is now buying Atlantic Air and has moved equipment to another site in preparation for reopening, Pero said. He could not provide a way to contact these individuals to verify his story, and Kaplewicz did not return a phone call or an e-mail from The Post and Courier. Workers said Pero jetted back and forth between Mount Pleasant and his home in New York, staying at hotels and spending freely when he was in town to check on business. Pero said he owns several bars and a chemical company in New York. He also is a registered sex offender in that state and Florida, having pleaded guilty in 1993 to first-degree attempted sodomy against a 28-year-old woman. Mueller said Pero was far more than a marketing assistant for Atlantic Air. Pero divvied up work assignments, handled company books and was the go-to face of the company, Mueller said. "Everyone knew he was in charge." General Wholesale Distributors of Greenville filed a lawsuit against Atlantic Air, Envirokleen, Pero and Kaplewicz in August, alleging that $120,962 in bills for equipment had gone unpaid. Documentation submitted with the lawsuit states that Pero was chief executive officer and Kaplewicz president of the two companies. Envirokleen, like Atlantic, also has closed its doors. Richard Stewart, General Wholesale's lawyer, said an attorney from New York called him after the lawsuit was filed and explained that Pero was having trouble paying his bills because he had been laid up after a shooting incident. On July 8, Pero told Charleston police that he was riding a motorcycle on Morrison Drive, by Cooper Street, when he heard a sound like fireworks and felt a burning sensation on his back. He told officers he continued on to a friend's apartment, where he discovered he had been shot, according to a police report. Friends of Pero offered somewhat conflicting details of the episode, police said, and officers could find no trace of a shooting at the spot where Pero said he was wounded. When police asked who might have shot him, Pero said he didn't know. "If we were in New York I could understand why someone would want to shoot me, but we are not there," the report quoted him as saying. Pero laughed when officers asked why someone in New York would want to harm him, police said. "Because it's New York," he told officers. Pero later stopped cooperating with detectives investigating the shooting and did not return phone calls from police, Charleston Detective Jerome Fleming said. Pero said he doesn't know who shot him, so there's nothing more to say about the incident. He insisted he's not ignoring anyone in Charleston, including his former subcontractors. "I'm just trying to do the right thing here," he said. |
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Comments
This article has 41 comment(s)
Posted by metallic on September 24, 2008 at 2:33 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Now what was it that I was saying a few weeks back in response to some of the "mold scare" articles?
I was warning that the people in that business were the lowest of the low.
Posted by metallic on September 24, 2008 at 2:42 a.m. (Suggest removal)
To refresh your memories.
What I said in July:
>>>You talk about a "tainted construction business in Charleston," but I'll let you know that the construction business in Charleston looks like it is run by saints if compared to the slime who run "mold detection" businesses (not to mention the lawyers involved in the scams).<<<
>>>"Mold eradication" is mostly about playing on the fear and ignorance so prevalent in our society today. The scammers take a few facts about mold, mix them into a stew of exaggeration, then look for weak-minded victims.<<<
>>>Don't confuse science with the shrill screams and attempts to create fear by those involved in the "mold eradication" scams.<<<
Posted by chucktonian on September 24, 2008 at 3:28 a.m. (Suggest removal)
No surprise here that a convicted felon steals money and tells lies. SHOCKING! Perhaps the people who chose to do business with this thug should have done a little digging
Posted by DoaMM on September 24, 2008 at 6:31 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Unfortunately, if the documentation is in order, there's not much that anyone can do.
This guy sounds shady to me. I'll clean my own mold, thanks...
Posted by Lois_Lane on September 24, 2008 at 7:09 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I'm sure he'll find out what sodomy feels like IF he ever gets behind bars, just where he needs to be.
Posted by abitskeptical on September 24, 2008 at 7:15 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Why was he allowed to be among the rest of us again after the attempted sodomy/RAPE plea?
What sentence did he receive for that despicable act?
Was it just a slap on the wrist-- probation/house arrest?
P&C...when you report on people like this, please include the result of the plea or conviction.
Posted by back2u on September 24, 2008 at 8:16 a.m. (Suggest removal)
now children-children...The poor fella's just trying to make a livin'. [snicker-snicker with sarcastism] He's had
S-U-C-H a horrible time gettin' better and back to earnin' a livin' after that terrible shootin' incident. Just look at his pitiful(I mean demonic) face. [again, snicker-snicker with sarcastism]
Posted by back2u on September 24, 2008 at 8:23 a.m. (Suggest removal)
But seriously, always be aware that cons come in many shapes and sizes. I have to honestly say myself that when I see the advertisements, it does makes me wonder about how much mold & other stuff lurk in the vents. So, being aware is a good thing, being lazy is not. Always do yourself, if you can.
Posted by algorelost on September 24, 2008 at 8:28 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Why don't we just bail out this company? Added to the packaged being put together in washington. That way everyone will get paid.
Posted by DoaMM on September 24, 2008 at 9 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Listen, mold can't live in sunlight, humidity abound or not. Buy one of those bulbs that reproduces sunlight (that's what they do), shine it for a while on the mold and it dies.
Early,
$10,000?! Holy crap!! I am SO in the wrong business...
(but then again, I couldn't rip people off like that, so my business would fold)
Posted by Floger76 on September 24, 2008 at 9:06 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Pero said "There is no way I am going to leave people high and dry,"
I thought that was how you got RID of mold???
Posted by ironhorse on September 24, 2008 at 9:10 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Anyone notice this guy and Dot Scott have the EXACT same expression in their pictures?
Posted by Stryder on September 24, 2008 at 9:39 a.m. (Suggest removal)
...and from what I hear, he's not done yet. People watch for another company to spring up around the Mt.Pleasant area called "East Coast Restoration", same group. In Savannah, Ga. they are known as "InterCoastal". Not sure the official name yet but they are cranking up in the Raliegh, NC areas. In regards to General Wholesale and the funds that are owed them, a lot of name brand equipment went through that building, so I wouldn't doubt it. Also selling 10 year parts and labor warranties, I wonder who is going to honor them. If anyone has purchased HVAC equipment from Atlantic, probably wasn't permitted or better yet, installed by "rookies". Anyone needing assistance on this matter or their equipment, please just ask....
Posted by Lovely_One on September 24, 2008 at 9:51 a.m. (Suggest removal)
See, this is the problem in the White community, they just want to steal people's hard earned money from them and do nothing in return. When are Lindsey Graham and Rush Limbaugh going to fix this?
Posted by Lovely_One on September 24, 2008 at 9:52 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Okay that was my flame post for the year!
Posted by nappyd on September 24, 2008 at 9:56 a.m. (Suggest removal)
"Posted by ColdBeer on September 24, 2008 at 8:36 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Why not... we've been bailing out farmers for decades."
Don't you mean those multimillion dollar agribusinesses that are already making record profits? :)
And yeah, unfortunately there are enough scammers around who ruin whoever's honest in the business.
Posted by NativeSC on September 24, 2008 at 9:57 a.m. (Suggest removal)
One look at that picture would tell you that he's a sex offender. GO HOME YANKEE, GO HOME, and take the rest of them with you
Posted by Lovely_One on September 24, 2008 at 10:43 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Yeah, ,ColdBeer, the entire year. I don't like how the bigotry feels on my skin. It burns...it burns!!!!!
Posted by Lovely_One on September 24, 2008 at 11:25 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Thanks Jane. I was just echoing what others say whenever we see a story about a black man robbing, shooting, and raping. I was being a bit of a bigot, but in a sarcastic way. :-)!!!!
Posted by UrGatorbait on September 24, 2008 at 11:29 a.m. (Suggest removal)
First off if you get hosed by mold eradication "experts" than you need to look in the mirror. They are snake oil sales men. playing on people's fear and ignorance like others have alluded to.
I was in the HVAC business and if the pictures of the interior of the duct work they used were that bad, you have problems related to things other than mold. To cure mold, can you say bleach or Lysol or any number of products? Duh.
Definitely some shoddy business practices going on with that company and Mr. Pero.
Now what I don't get, well except maybe for the sensationalism of it all to get the attention directed at another ho-hum P&C story, is the sex offender reference. Let us tantalize you with something not related to the business failure and try to weakly tie it in to the business. Unless the crime directly affected the business, no evidence, it's great "Springeresque" theater to get the attention of it's target audience. The dude did his time.
If some of you are interested, you might rely on other sources than the P&C for your info. He sodomized a 28 year old oristo, reading is fundamental but hey why not whip up the hysteria?
http://www.flsexoffender.net/offender/ho...
Kudos to another poorly written piece in the P&C, somewhere a HS newspaper is missing it's cub reporter.
Posted by realintheus on September 24, 2008 at 11:30 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Yes, I know how you feel Lovely_One! Now the crosses are burning too! LOL!!!!!!
Posted by keepinitreal on September 24, 2008 at 11:36 a.m. (Suggest removal)
He better shave off that facial hair before he meets Bubba. Bubba won't appreciate the burn to his nether regions.... Kinda makes you smile knowing he'll be on the receiving end this time, don't it? You guys want to remove mold the cheapest and easiest? I just buy a spray bottle and fill it with straight bleach. It works great for the shower and shower curtain as well as the corners of the windows and sills where that black mold seems to start. The scented bleach is alot less noticeable.
Posted by Lovely_One on September 24, 2008 at 11:37 a.m. (Suggest removal)
realintheus,
Yep and next they will move back to burning the churches!!! Okay, I am done!!!
Posted by UrGatorbait on September 24, 2008 at 12:09 p.m. (Suggest removal)
No, it's not relevant to the business failure at all. His subs getting hosed, his customers getting shorted is the story. Did he sodomize any female customers? Probably not, but I don't have my crystal ball out. You don't know do you? It probably didn't happen or the National enquirer quality dirt diggers on the P&C staff would have uncovered allegations. It makes for good press and sells papers though.
Early, good point.
How many sex offenders live your neighborhood? How many do you contact with that you don't know about? Probably more than a few if you did some research and stepped away from the hysteria and fear caused by the phrase "sex offender".
Here's a link: Tell me how many live near you? Near the mall? Work in service industries or production jobs or any other type of labor intensive jobs? Hmmm? How many folks do you not know about that have committed sex offenses and aren't punished. I think the stats are for every one caught, there are an est. to be ten more out there undetected. I'll find the link later.
So ditch the hysterics and drama. Logical thinking isn't the P&Cs bread and butter don't let it be yours.
Posted by katrenavantassle on September 24, 2008 at 12:16 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I wouldn't want a registered sex offender to come to my home!!! Like the carpet cleaner workers etc...last time I called the same company I always use and I asked for a certain person....they send the guy I knew but he had brought a new worker along with him that was weird as heck.
I didn't appreciate that and I will probably call another company next time. These SEX OFFENDERS NEED NOT TO HAVE JOBS THAT EXPOSE THEM TO THE PUBLIC!!!
Posted by UrGatorbait on September 24, 2008 at 12:17 p.m. (Suggest removal)
http://services.sled.sc.gov/sor/
Feel free to browse Jane and keep trying to tie his Florida offense into a business failure. Thanks
Posted by CaptPete on September 24, 2008 at 12:29 p.m. (Suggest removal)
It's best to get someone you know work on your house.
Posted by UrGatorbait on September 24, 2008 at 12:48 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Trying to tie this business failure to his sex offense is crap reporting. You could have written this story without the sex offender reference. Mind you this would have generated alot less hits.
If we continue to publicly ostracize them, I think you will eventually bore the tears out of people. Eventually it'll reach the "Oh yeah, there's a sex offender living around here" mentality. Most sex offenders know their victims. The creepiness factor plays alot into the common sense thing when selecting people to service you house needs.
No you can never be to cautious or safe with your family.
My whole beef was the P&C sensationalizing this piece with a headline containing the words "sex offender" when it had nada to do with the business failure.
Posted by Girleygirl on September 24, 2008 at 1:38 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Maybe the PC posted the story about him being a sex offender because he advertised with the PC and haven't paid his bill.
You know what they say about Karma.
Posted by ironhorse on September 24, 2008 at 1:55 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Gator Bait,
you sure are protesting a little loudly on this sex offender issue.....
Posted by forget on September 24, 2008 at 4:28 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I'm sure everyone remembers the woman from Pawleys Isl. that was killed by a worker in her home last year. Probably why that information is being reported and why some of us (mostly female) are finding this information vital.
Posted by Girleygirl on September 24, 2008 at 4:50 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Or the elderly lady that was duped (about 3 months ago) by a well dressed & spoken man. I'm with you ladies as well, report it!
Posted by photopete on September 24, 2008 at 5:13 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Early, you are so right they are scum bags. my husband is disabled and he is at home all day while i work .back in feb. i got home from work around 2;30 pm my husband told me atlantic air had come out and did their 99.00 vent service and supposely they had sprayed a solution in the vents the guy came back around 3;00 and wanted close to 800.00 dollars for the work he did .. you talking about a rip off this was it ... we were told they would press charges if we did not pay it..we finally paid it off in payments they are the scumbags of the earth . oh yeah and i threatened my husband not to fall for these scams ....
Posted by jeff61 on September 24, 2008 at 5:57 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I bet this guy can't make change for a dollar
Posted by UrGatorbait on September 24, 2008 at 6:42 p.m. (Suggest removal)
ironhorse, reading is fundamental, critical reading and reading for comprehension are skills you just don't have. Now if you would follow me...I'll write in crayon for you...This story could have run without the sex offender angle.
Sex offenses are serious crimes and trying to connect it with vague and weak nothing, is no more than sensationalist media coverage; it serves no purpose other than to sell papers at the guttural level.
Sex crimes deserve there own special coverage when there is evidence that they caused the headlined event. U-N-D-E-R-S-T-A-N-D?
Like I implied in another post that it's akin to crying wolf because folks see "sex crime" often enough and will eventually end up going, "oh". Do I need to spell it out for you any different?
Now go on back to the NAACP thread and keep showing us your true colors.
Posted by ironhorse on September 24, 2008 at 7:21 p.m. (Suggest removal)
gatorbait, crayons, and sex offender all in the same breath...
How many trench coats do you own Candy Man?
Posted by southerngirl45 on September 24, 2008 at 8:36 p.m. (Suggest removal)
With the economy the way it is every crooked scum bag is going to be out in full force. These kind don't and couldn't hold down a real job.They are lazy a**es and have learned to live off of innocent people.I hope they can bring charges to this fat a** Parish look alike and I sincerly hope the people that have been scamed can have their day in court including his employees who may have families to support.Judging from this article this one and his "gulfriend"(I meant to spell it that way)are a couple of losers!
Posted by Stryder on September 24, 2008 at 8:55 p.m. (Suggest removal)
...OK, lets face it, a guy with a checkered past has strolled into the greater Charleston/Columbia area and has walked away with close to a half a million bucks. The company wasn't in his name but he was in control of day to day operations, installed illegal unpermitted HVAC equipment, mold removal, replaced duct work that at times did not need replacing, "cleaned" air handlers and 65% of the time caused problems with the units. Don't think he entered anyone's house "per say" but employed crews he would force to become LLC's so Atlantic would not catch any flak. Mass advertised, and did quite well, for awhile. I agree that mentioning the "offender" aspect of the situation was a pretty good "twist of the dagger" but let's not forget that he and his tactics are still amoung us. If the word can get out on this man and his "companys", we can possibly save a few folks some hard earned money. Not to mention in the HVAC/R industry sub-contractors that are still owed money by Atlantic...
Posted by UrGatorbait on September 24, 2008 at 9:22 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Apologies Jane, I miss read it and yes it's very good to be choosy about who goes into your house.
BTW I got a coupon today from his company for a duct cleaning. Hehehe.
Gee iron you seem have to be implying something that isn't anywhere near the truth. I won't play along but I think the word "sex" gets you all gushy inside now go climb in your sisters bed.
Posted by UrGatorbait on September 24, 2008 at 9:27 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Iron, I forgot, I just want to say I'm glad I found a way to bring it down to your level so you can understand, we can communicate, and won't feel lonely. All I had to do was use crayons and the words sex offender to find your mindset. Thanx dude your a great help at proving my point.
Posted by Stryder on September 24, 2008 at 10:33 p.m. (Suggest removal)
...you people absolutley kill me........