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.

Gary Brown, director of the Department of Consumer Protection for Westchester County, urges people to check with the DCP to make sure the contractor they are about to hire is licensed.

"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.