NEW ROCHELLE, NY (July 11, 2026) — A New Rochelle landscaping contractor won a small claims judgment of $2,143.48 against Robert P. Rubicco in February 2020 after Rubicco failed to appear in court to contest the unpaid bill, according to New Rochelle City Court records obtained by Talk of the Sound.
Massimino Tiesi, doing business as Mitiesi Landscaping & Contracting of 133 Meadow Lane, filed a small claims complaint against Rubicco on Nov. 19, 2019, seeking $2,373.48 for landscaping and related services performed at Rubicco’s home at 3 Kensington Oval earlier that year.
Invoices document months of unpaid work
Records show Tiesi’s company invoiced Rubicco three times over the summer of 2019:
- A May 31, 2019 invoice for $850, covering reseeding, aerator machine use, eight yards of mulch and two weeks of May maintenance. That invoice is stamped “PAID” and dated June 18, 2019.
- A June 30, 2019 invoice for $359.24, covering monthly landscaping, fertilizer application and weed control. Court records do not show this invoice as paid.
- A July 31, 2019 invoice for $2,373.48, which rolled over the unpaid $359.24 balance and added July landscaping service, grub control, crab grass control, plumbing work, and sprinkler repairs — including replacement of six broken sprinkler heads at $165 each and one additional head — plus a $250 late fee described on the invoice as covering “June, July, August, September and November.”
The reference to a $250 late fee for months including August, September and November on an invoice dated July 31 is inconsistent with the invoice’s own date; Talk of the Sound could not determine from available records whether this reflects a clerical error by the landscaping company or some other explanation.
Complaint alleges Rubicco knew the cost of the work
In his handwritten small claims complaint, Tiesi wrote that Rubicco “asked us to provide services and knew what we were doing” before later declining to pay. He sought $2,373.48 plus a $20 filing fee.
Rubicco did not appear; judgment entered by default
A hearing was scheduled for Feb. 5, 2020 at 2 p.m. in New Rochelle City Court’s Small Claims Part. Court records indicate Rubicco did not appear. Under New York’s Uniform City Court Act, a claimant may prove their case at an inquest even when a defendant fails to show, and a judgment “will result in favor of the Claimant” in nearly all such cases, according to the notice mailed to Rubicco.
Judgment was entered after inquest on Feb. 5, 2020, in the amount of $2,123.48 in damages plus $20 in disbursements, for a total judgment of $2,143.48. That figure is exactly $250 less than the $2,373.48 Tiesi originally claimed — the same amount as the disputed late fee on the July invoice — though the judgment record does not explain the reduction.
Part of a pattern
The Tiesi judgment adds to a documented pattern of unpaid bills and small claims actions against Rubicco and his businesses reported in this series, including a default judgment obtained by a New Rochelle veterinary clinic and a dismissed claim involving a stopped check for a grill purchase.
Under New York’s Uniform City Court Act, an unpaid small claims judgment against a business can be grounds for a licensing authority to revoke, suspend, condition or deny renewal of a business license if nonpayment reflects “a pattern of similar conduct indicating recklessness.”
Talk of the Sound could not determine from available court records whether the Tiesi judgment has since been paid or remains outstanding.
Editor’s note: On July 9, 2026, four plenary summonses were served on this publication’s publisher by Sheehan & Partners LLP on behalf of LLCs associated with Robert P. Rubicco, in connection with this series. Talk of the Sound continues to report on matters of public record and will provide updates on that litigation as appropriate.
This article was prepared with the assistance of AI tools under the direction and editing of Robert Cox.
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