Divine intervention? Livonia church's faith in humanity restored after good Samaritan steps up
(FOX 2) - Was it divine intervention that landed a Livonia church its new state-of-the-art security system? Or just a bit of good luck?
After a string bad luck at the hands of a bad-faith contractor, Sacred Heart Byzantine and its trusting priest are back in business with the help of private security company that offered to install security cameras at no charge.
It's the final page in another chapter of the Hall of Shame that started with some digging into a guy named Francesco Daniel Petrone.
Originally hired to help install cameras at the Livonia church, he was given a $2,400 down payment from Father Joseph Marquis to help get things off the ground. The money came from a fundraiser and the benevolent church staff thought it would end with some good.
Instead, it became a season of headaches for the church.
"Swindlers, thieves, and liars do not make it into the Kingdom of Heaven," Marquis told FOX 2's Rob Wolchek over the summer. He had peppered Petrone with calls about finishing the job he was paid to complete, but instead had his number blocked.
When Petrone was confronted by FOX 2, he said he planned on finishing the project before running into delays. He said he had every intention of paying the church back. Father Marquis has yet to see a dime.
For this story, that's where the sins stop and the good deeds start.
"We're a family-owned business. We're out here in the community of Metro Detroit helping people every day and to have this happen in my hometown Livonia, we weren't going to stand for that," said Ryan Okerstrom.
He's no angel! Security camera installer picks unlikely victim
Daniel Petrone has given people a slew of excuses for why he can't finish work he's paid for. Like the 'dog ate the homework' kind of excuses.
Okerstrom is the vice president of operations for Huffmaster, a U.S. Homeland security-approved company that provides protection for all kinds of businesses. A few days after the initial Hall of Shame segment aired, he got in touch with the ladies of Sacred Heart who had raised the original funds that were cheated from the church.
"We put in a whole new camera system, cameras throughout the building, the appliance that records the images back to the Father's iPad, all the labor, covered by us," he said.
Talk about walking the righteous path.