Family of pavers twice cited for operating illegal campgrounds in Glocester

GLOCESTER – A family involved in the paving business – who shares a name with a known clan of cross-country paving scammers – has been cited for operating illegal campgrounds twice on town properties in recent years.

Town Building and Zoning Official Dennis Begin has ordered owner James Stanley of Haverhill, Mass. to remove several currently occupied travel trailers from his lot on Bowdish Lake. Begin sent Stanley a notice of violation on Thursday, July 18 stating the trailers must be removed within 30 days or he could face legal action and fines.

At least four large mobile homes, along with boats, jet skis and camping gear were parked on a paved section of the property this week, visible from Route 44 on the waterfront lot, which borders Airy Acres Drive.

On the surrounding chain link fence, signs advertise Rhode Island Paving, a business listed at 2364 Putnam Pike in Chepachet, which it turns out, was cited for the exact same violation two years ago.

Research on the properties, their ownership and the businesses run by those owners reveals ties between the two, and commonalities with a decades old practice of fraudulent business targeting homeowners. Some consumer complaints echo a scam that led to charges for three members of the Stanley family in New Hampshire in 2010, including one Cornelius Stanley.

The Bowdish Lake lot at the focus of the recent violation was purchased by James Stanley for $160,000 in 2020. Stanley owns Public Paving in Haverhill, Mass. according to records with the Better Business Bureau.

The lot at 2364 Putnam Pike – home to Rhode Island Paving – was also purchased in 2020, by the Stanley Family Revocable Trust. “Cornelius Stanley,” filed several quit claim deeds related to the property last year.

Deeds for both properties list their address as 1022 Main St. in Haverhill.

James Stanley’s, “Public Paving,” is not accredited with the BBB and customers have documented complaints with the agency that may sound familiar to some. One states that Stanley offered to pave a portion of a church’s parking lot with some “leftover asphalt” but then paved a much larger portion, billing the church $34,000 for the work. Others also state that work agreed to – including ripping up existing pavement – was never performed.

Such scams involving paving services have been well-documented in recent years, with warnings issued by local police and consumer protection agencies across New England and beyond. In 2021, NRI NOW warned readers that one group was targeting homes in Burrillville with their pitch to use “extra asphalt,” to pave driveways before later jacking up the price.

A series in Nashua-based newspaper The Telegraph in 2010 pointed to activities of members of the Stanley family, some of whom have been charged with fraud for work done under various business names. One article noted that, “The families live out of large campers, while their workers shared motel rooms, and they did business mainly by cell phone.”

Cornelius V. Stanley, of Nashua, and two of his sons were convicted on theft charges stemming from a series of paving scams in southern New Hampshire that same year.

It was unclear this week if the same Cornelius Stanley is now operating in Glocester. The Telegraph pointed to several generations of family members sharing the same name, noting at the time the Cornelius Stanley Jr. and Sr. sometimes used the same Social Security number, issued in Massachusetts in the early 1980s.

Chepachet-based Rhode Island Paving, meanwhile, has received mixed reviews. While some customers have given the business five stars, earlier this year one customer noted on Angie’s List that the business did not rip up an old driveway as promised, and that cracks that developed had yet to be repaired.

What is clear is their practice of illegally occupying travel trailers on properties where the vehicles are not authorized has been a problem for local officials.

A notice of violation sent by previous Glocester Building & Zoning Official Ken Johnson in 2022 addressed campers parked at 2364 Putnam Pike.

“The use of these trailers is in violation of the Glocester Code of Ordinances,” notes Johnson.

The Bowdish Lake property is zoned A-4, or agricultural/residential, where overnight camping is only permitted with a special use permit.

Begin notes that if those campers are not removed, James Stanley could face a fine for the violation of up to $100 a day and the town could also file suit in Supreme or Superior Court.