Cape Coral widow joins others complaining about pavers

CAPE CORAL, Fla. – More people are reaching out to WINK News Call for Action after our initial investigation into Zlatan “Goldy” Krekic and his business Croat Pavers of Florida.

Gerry Cameron says shortly after buying her Cape Coral home, her husband died. Hoping to heal, Cameron said she set out to make her Florida home a peaceful place.

“I was so, so sad and all I wanted was to have a little house with a pool and live here and heal from what I had been through,” she said.

Instead, Cameron said the last two years of dealing with her remodel has been “an absolute nightmare.”

According to Cameron, it all started after she hired Zlatan “Goldy” Krekic of Croat Pavers of Florida.

“He would say to me, I can’t bring your husband back, but you can trust me and I will help you with this project,” she recalled.

In October of 2014, Cameron signed a contract with Krekic. Her paperwork shows for $60,000 she was going to get a pool, pool cage and fence around her yard.

Her records show that she paid half of that amount, $30,000 on the same day she signed her contract.

“He put tremendous pressure on me to pay him up front,” she said.

Every new project that came up after she had signed, Cameron said Krekic required her to pay in full.

“I got to a point where he had more money and I was trying not to upset him, so I was like under the gun,” she explained.

By the time Krekic was finished, Cameron had paid him $167,000.

“I feel like life is just not you know is not very good right now and sometimes I wonder if it’s even worth living when you feel so so violated,” Cameron said.

Two years later, Cameron says Krekic still has not finished the work and she is out $47,000. Her records show she paid Krekic $22,000 for hurricane impact windows; $14,000 for a fence and $3,000 for a pool finish none of which Krekic even started.

Cameron says that $47,000 does not include all the money she is going to have to spend to fix all the work that has to be redone because she says Krekic did such a poor job the first time.

“Everything we were paid for is done, so that’s not true,” said Krekic when we asked him about Cameron’s situation.

But paper after paper lining Cameron’s kitchen counters shows what she paid for and when. Proof she says that Krekic is the one that is not telling the truth.

“I’m 72 years old. I have never in my life been through anything like this and I don’t know how I’m ever going to get out of it.”

Cameron said she reached out to Krekic several times and filed complaints with Cape Coral code enforcement, but at this point there has been no resolution. She also filed complaints with the Department of Business and Professional Regulations and with the Florida Board of Professional Engineers against the license holder Krekic was working under at the time. The license holder, Eldin Hotic was investigated by the Florida Board of Professional Engineers and an administrative complaint was filed.

As for Krekic, his wife is attempting to get a contractor license with Lee County. She will go before the county construction licensing board Tuesday, Oct. 18. If she obtains that license, in theory Krekic can continue doing business under his wife’s license.

Krekic’s company issued a statement to WINK News:

We, Croat Pavers of SWFL did not stop the work at Ms. Cameron’s house. That was her decision, which she send me the text message, which I still have it. That I’m and my company are not welcome on her property. The night before I spoke with her on the phone she told me that I’m her hero and not just me, but everybody that I brought as a subcontractor to work on her project was very nice and she appreciated because she’s a widow and she felt very comfortable working with the people that I brought to her house. I do have a video where Ms. Cameron is being very happy after 90% of work was completed. After the stop work order from Ms. Cameron, I met with her and her brother-in-law in the city of Cape Coral where she started calling me names. She said she wished one of my daughters gets cancer and her brother-in-law threatened me that he has connection in government and he will have me deported from the country. And I still have a text message from Ms. Cameron apologizing for her behavior.
-Goldy Krekic, Croat Pavers