Contractor convicted of stealing $2.5 million from 12 families

DOYLESTOWN, Pa. (WPVI) -- A contractor accused of one of the biggest home builder frauds in Pennsylvania history is behind bars tonight.

John Succi was convicted in a Bucks County courtroom Friday of stealing $2.5 million from Philadelphia area families.

Twelve separate families have testified against John Succi over the span of a week. Their stories range from the theft of tens of thousands of dollars to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Now the man they believe stole from them with no remorse, could faces up to 135 years behind bars.

"It's just horrifying, what he has done," says Sherri Landes.

Landes testified against Succi. She says she took out a line of credit on her Ivyland home that was supposed to pay for her daughter's college and gave $600,000 to Succi to build her a second home at the shore... but she says he walked off the job.

She tells us, "After that was all used up, I still only had a shell. He had taken all that money and he hadn't spent it on my house."

Annette and Jeffrey Goldstein also testified that they hired Succi to put an addition on their home for Annette's ailing elderly mother.

Annette Goldstein tells us, "He just kept coming to me asking for more money, more money and more money."

Not only was Succi convicted of failing to perform the work he promised on their home, the Goldsteins say his shoddy work placed Annette's mother in physical danger.

"She went to use the bathroom late one evening and she walked in and fell through, right down into the basement," Annette said.

And although this conviction could land 59-year-old Succi behind bars for the rest of his life, there is little chance his victims will ever see the money they lost.

Succi didn't testify on his own behalf. And while it was clear to the jury that he didn't perform the work he was supposed to, one mystifying question remains: What happened to the money?

While there is speculation, we may never know what happened to that $2.5 million. We do know there are other victims out there that were not part of this case.

Succi left the court in handcuffs after being convicted of 27 separate felonies. The court has scheduled a sentencing in this case for next week.