Published on
ROCKLEDGE – Raymond Neil Smith II, the founder of G&G Roofing who was sentenced last May to 30 months in federal prison for orchestrating a human smuggling ring that brought nearly 100 migrants, including unaccompanied children, into Brevard County from the Bahamas, is already out in less than a year.
Federal Bureau of Prisons records reviewed by The Space Coast Rocket confirm Smith, federal register number 10813-511, is now in the custody of the Residential Reentry Management field office in Orlando, the Bureau’s halfway-house oversight office for middle and northern Florida. His projected release date is December 27, 2026.
That puts Smith’s total time in actual federal prison custody at roughly nine months, on a sentence that the United States Sentencing Guidelines recommended at 97 to 121 months – eight to ten years.
Among the most telling details of Smith’s current life is a 42-foot Freeman center console fishing boat bearing the name “Flight Risk” on its hull.
According to sources familiar with the vessel, Smith acquired the boat with four new Mercury outboard motors and significant additional upgrades for over $1 million.
Smith’s 18-year-old son Carmine frequently flaunts the vessel on his TikTok account referring to it as his own, with his other teenage friends who comment about the benefits of “slave labor” under his posts and featured in his videos. According to reports, Raymond had his son Carmine participating in the smuggling of the human beings, including children by transporting them in a smaller boat from the main boat to the land.
@c.smith450 Two of em🥀#freeman #42 #fyp ♬ 2 On Slowed Version – zlddt
The name itself is emblematic and some say show the absolute lack of remorse or responsibility for his crimes and the human lives he’s negatively impacted. Smith is under federal supervised release with a 12-hour daily curfew, required to disclose all financial transactions and asset acquisitions to his probation officer. Federal records do not publicly reflect disclosure of the $1 million+ vessel, nor do they show approval for international Bahamas travel. The acquisition raises broader questions: Smith is not currently operating any licensed contracting business in his own name. He is under federal supervision with employment reporting requirements. Yet he maintains sufficient liquidity for a $1 million+ boat and extended international trips. The sources of this capital are not evident in public records.
Smith pleaded guilty on July 12, 2024, to Conspiracy to Smuggle Aliens and Unlawfully Transporting Aliens. Federal sentencing guidelines set his recommended sentence at 97 to 121 months – eight to ten years.
Between July 2023 and February 2024, Smith coordinated at least six smuggling trips transporting about 98 migrants, mostly Haitian nationals, including unaccompanied children. On one intercepted voyage in February 2024, authorities found 25 migrants on Smith’s 42-foot Yellowfin with only nine life vests. The vessel contained firearms and night-vision gear. Smith’s associate Michael Andrew Milano captained that trip and was later sentenced to 24 months.
Smith’s smuggling proceeds totaled $284,000, which he dissipated to shield the funds from forfeiture. The court ordered forfeiture of those proceeds and both vessels – valued at approximately $2 million.
One week before sentencing, Smith’s defense counsel filed a Motion for Variance asking Judge Gregory A. Presnell to impose a sentence below the guideline range. Court filings also reflect sealed activity on March 9 and March 12, 2025, with Motions to Seal and court orders. At the May 1, 2025 sentencing hearing, the minutes note that the “Court clears the courtroom to address a sealed motion.” The public record of that portion is redacted.
According to sources with knowledge of the case, Smith provided information to federal investigators – information whose specifics remain sealed – that contributed to his substantial sentence reduction. That cooperation has been linked by law enforcement to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) enforcement activity in Brevard County in late 2024 and early 2025, with multiple sources indicating Smith provided information on smuggling networks and associates operating in the area in exchange for a reduced sentence for his own smuggling actions.
Judge Presnell granted Smith’s Motion for Downward Variance and sentenced him to 30 months – roughly 70 percent below the guideline minimum. He ordered Smith to pay $40,200 in penalties, surrender his passport, and comply with three years of supervised release.
While Smith was making his way through Coleman, his Rockledge waterfront home was listed for sale at $2.75 million. Simultaneously, federal corporate records show he was setting up a brand-new Florida business venture. The corporation was filed just 18 days after his sentencing.
The new venture sits at 999 Florida Avenue in Rockledge, a property Smith personally owns. The building once housed Winner Glass, a storefront operating “since 1957.” Smith’s new corporation operates under the name Winner Architectural Concepts.
And throughout all of this – from the July 2024 guilty plea through the May 2025 sentencing, through his federal incarceration, and now into his halfway-house placement – Smith has continued to hold multiple active Florida construction-related licenses. His Certified Roofing Contractor license CCC1329326 and his Certified General Contractor license CGC1518534 remain listed in “Current, Active” status on the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation’s public licensee database as of the time of this publication. He also continues to hold a current Construction Financial Officer license, FRO9920, tied to a separate Rockledge HVAC company, and has a pending Certified Mechanical Contractor application currently in “Eligible for Exam” status at DBPR.
And the public DBPR record now shows something more: an open administrative complaint against Smith’s roofing license, complaint number 2025039875, currently in Settlement Negotiations. Meanwhile, since Smith’s July 2024 federal guilty plea, Brevard County’s building department has issued 139 building permits to G&G Roofing Construction Inc. under his qualifying agent license, including commercial reroofs and new commercial construction projects across Melbourne, Cocoa, and Merritt Island, with at least three permits issued after Smith reported to federal prison custody.
Smith pleaded guilty on July 12, 2024, to Conspiracy to Smuggle Aliens and Unlawfully Transporting Aliens in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Orlando Division, in case number 6:24-cr-00186-GAP-RMN. The case was assigned to Judge Gregory A. Presnell, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Varadan prosecuting.
The factual record laid out by federal prosecutors during the plea phase established that between July 2023 and February 2024, Smith coordinated six smuggling trips between the Bahamas and Florida using high-speed offshore vessels, transporting at least 98 migrants – the majority Haitian nationals – including unaccompanied children. Conditions on the trips were dangerous. On a single intercepted voyage in February 2024, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers found 25 migrants – 21 Haitians and four Bahamians, including two pregnant women and four unaccompanied children – crammed onto Smith’s 42-foot Yellowfin vessel with only nine life vests on board. The vessel also contained firearms and night-vision gear. The captain on that intercepted trip was Smith’s recruited associate, Michael Andrew Milano of Merritt Island, who was later sentenced to 24 months in federal prison.
Smith’s smuggling proceeds totaled at least $284,000, which prosecutors said he dissipated to third parties in an attempt to shield the funds from forfeiture. The court ultimately ordered forfeiture of those proceeds along with both vessels – the 42-foot Yellowfin and a 2020 42-foot Freeman, together valued at an estimated $2 million.
Federal sentencing guidelines, calculated by U.S. Probation in the final Presentence Investigation Report and confirmed in court filings, set Smith’s sentencing range at 97 to 121 months in prison based on a total offense level of 30 and a Criminal History Category I. That range reflects a baseline of more than eight years of federal imprisonment.
On April 24, 2025, one week before the scheduled sentencing hearing, Smith’s defense counsel, Atlanta attorney Murdoch Walker II of Lowther | Walker LLC, filed a seven-page Motion for Variance under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a). The motion asked Judge Presnell to impose a sentence below the guideline range, citing what Probation itself had identified as Smith’s “familial and community support, minimal criminal history, and his employment history.”
The case file also reflects sealed activity around the same time. On March 9, 2025, a Motion to Seal was filed under docket entry 94. A Sealed Order on Motion to Seal followed on March 12, 2025 at docket entry 95. The substance of those filings is not publicly available.
At the May 1, 2025 sentencing hearing – which began at 10:28 a.m. and lasted 1 hour and 33 minutes – the sentencing minutes reflect that “Court clears the courtroom to address a sealed motion” before the public portion of the proceeding continued. The minute entry for that portion of the hearing is redacted on the public docket. What is public is the result: Judge Presnell granted the defense’s Motion for Downward Variance and sentenced Smith to 30 months on each of the two counts, to run concurrently, with credit for time served.
Smith was also ordered to pay a $30,000 fine, a $10,000 Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act assessment, and a $200 special assessment – a total of $40,200 in monetary penalties due immediately. He was placed on three years of supervised release with conditions including drug treatment, mental health treatment, DNA collection, financial disclosure to probation, and drug testing. He was ordered to surrender his passport.
Judge Presnell recommended that the Bureau of Prisons designate Smith to the federal correctional complex at Coleman – “to be near family,” per the sentencing minutes.
The Motion for Variance, which is part of the public court record, references “voluminous letters in support” that defense counsel relied on at sentencing. As The Space Coast Rocket previously reported, those letters totaled 42 character references submitted on Smith’s behalf, including endorsements from leaders of Habitat for Humanity and Junior Achievement – organizations focused on housing assistance and youth development, respectively.
The endorsements helped persuade Judge Presnell to vary nearly 70 percent below the bottom of the guideline range. A defendant whose smuggling operation included unaccompanied minors as cargo, who used his teenage son in the operation, who shuttled undocumented workers across international waters to staff his Bahamian property, and who dissipated $284,000 in criminal proceeds to evade forfeiture, walked out of court with a 30-month sentence.
According to information obtained by The Space Coast Rocket, Smith reported to federal custody in July 2025, approximately two months after his sentencing – a typical voluntary self-surrender window for non-violent federal defendants. He was housed at the Coleman Federal Correctional Complex in Sumter County, as Judge Presnell had recommended.
BOP records confirm Smith’s current placement at the Residential Reentry Management Orlando office, located at 6303 County Road 500, Wildwood, Florida – roughly four miles from the gates of Coleman. RRM Orlando supervises a network of contracted halfway houses and home-confinement placements throughout middle and northern Florida.
His transfer to halfway-house status reportedly occurred on or around April 24, 2026 – meaning Smith served approximately nine months of actual prison custody on a 30-month sentence before being transferred to pre-release supervision. His BOP-projected full release date is December 27, 2026, putting his total time in any form of federal custody at roughly 20 months. Since getting out of prison, Smith has been spending his 12 hours of time each day mostly in Brevard County and has been seen meeting with high profile business owners in the construction industry according to witnesses. Those businesses will remain nameless for now but are believed to be exploring business partnerships/investments with Smith for future ventures.
Eighteen days after Judge Presnell handed down the 30-month sentence, on May 19, 2025, Smith filed Articles of Incorporation with the Florida Division of Corporations for a new for-profit corporation: RCS Brevard Inc.
The Sunbiz filing, document number P25000030911, lists Smith as both President and Registered Agent at 999 Florida Avenue, Rockledge. The Vice President is listed as Wilford E. Davis II, also at 999 Florida Avenue. The principal and mailing addresses are identical.
On June 2, 2025, the Internal Revenue Service issued the new corporation Employer Identification Number 39-2443329. The IRS notice, designated CP 575 A, lists the entity as RCS Brevard Inc., doing business as Winner Architectural Concepts, at 999 Florida Avenue S, Rockledge, Florida. The IRS assigned the corporation filing obligations for Form 941 (employer’s quarterly federal tax return), Form 940 (employer’s annual federal unemployment tax return), and Form 1120 (corporate income tax return) – the filing schedule of an active operating business that intends to hire employees and pay corporate income tax.
The 999 Florida Avenue address is the long-time location of Winner Glass, a Rockledge storefront with signage advertising the business as operating “since 1957.” Brevard County Property Appraiser records show the parcel, account number 2425339, with parcel ID 24-36-33-CD-*-1, is personally owned by Smith. The mailing address on the property record is Smith’s personal residence at 6225 Capstan Court in Rockledge.
The DBA “Winner Architectural Concepts” is a deliberate echo of the legacy Winner Glass brand at the same address. Florida law does not require a DBA filing to disclose the underlying corporate owner’s federal criminal history, and a consumer searching for Winner Architectural Concepts at 999 Florida Avenue would not, without additional research, know that the venture’s president is a federal inmate serving time for human smuggling.
On February 7, 2026, while Smith was in BOP custody at Coleman, RCS Brevard Inc. filed its 2026 annual report with the Florida Division of Corporations, keeping the corporation in active status.
On May 7, 2025 – six days after Judge Presnell announced the 30-month sentence – Smith’s Rockledge waterfront home at 6225 Capstan Court was listed for sale on the Multiple Listing Service at $2,750,000. The Coldwell Banker listing described the property as a fully remodeled five-bedroom estate on more than half an acre, with 120-plus feet of Indian River frontage, a full dock, a 10,000-pound boat lift, three jet ski lifts, a saltwater pool and spa, and a wood-fired pizza oven.
That property is the same Rockledge home that, per The Space Coast Rocket’s prior reporting, federal investigators identified as the launch point for several of the smuggling voyages. On April 19, 2024, agents conducted surveillance at the residence and watched individuals loading duffel bags onto Smith’s 42-foot Freeman vessel docked at the property before it exited through Sebastian Inlet into the Atlantic. Customs and Border Protection later intercepted the vessel offshore with six men aboard, including four Honduran nationals. Smith told the agents at the time that they “were headed to do work on his property in the Bahamas.”
The home reportedly sold in June 2025 for approximately $1,875,000 per available comparable sales data, although the final closing price for 6225 Capstan Court has not been publicly confirmed.
Smith retains personal ownership of at least two additional Brevard County properties: the commercial parcel at 999 Florida Avenue in Rockledge that houses the new Winner Architectural Concepts venture, and a residential parcel at 5705 S. U.S. Highway 1 in Rockledge, account number 2512096, parcel ID 25-36-36-00-504.
His new home that sits on about 4 acres of waterfront property is the home of his new million dollar vessel, numerous luxury vehicles including a Rolls Royce, and major active construction in progress for additions.
While Smith was setting up Winner Architectural Concepts, G&G Roofing – the multimillion-dollar roofing business he founded in 2002 – was undergoing a public-facing rebrand.
The original G&G corporation, G AND G ROOFING CONSTRUCTION INC, document number P07000096125, remains an active Florida profit corporation. Its most recent annual report, filed March 8, 2025 – less than two months before Smith’s sentencing – listed Smith as both President and Registered Agent, with Jamie G. Mendiola of Mims as Vice President. The principal address is 456 Gus Hipp Boulevard in Rockledge.
On July 25, 2025, less than three months after Smith’s sentencing and approximately five weeks before he reported to federal custody, a new Florida limited liability company called CORVEX ROOFING I, LLC, document number L25000334924, was filed with Sunbiz at the same 456 Gus Hipp Boulevard address.
The Corvex Roofing filing is structured to obscure beneficial ownership. The manager is not a named individual but a separate entity, Corvex Holdings, LLC. The registered agent is not a named individual either but a commercial registered agent service, Capitol Corporate Services, Inc., based in Tallahassee.
The Corvex Roofing public website explicitly states the company is “Formerly G&G Roofing. Same great team, new ownership!” The site identifies David Flickinger as the chief executive officer and Mark Flickinger – David Flickinger’s father – as the chief estimator, with Mark Flickinger described as having previously been part of the G&G operation. Customer testimonials displayed on the Corvex website continue to reference “G&G” by name.
Corvex Roofing is operating from the same 456 Gus Hipp Boulevard address as G&G, with the same crews, the same support staff, and a fleet that an Indeed job posting for a Corvex fleet manager describes as comprising approximately 40 vehicles.
The relationship between Smith’s original G&G corporation – which remains active in his name with him as President and Registered Agent – and the new Corvex Holdings, LLC structure has not been publicly disclosed. Whether Smith retains any ownership or financial interest in Corvex Roofing through the Corvex Holdings parent entity is not determinable from public records alone.
Throughout all of this – Smith’s July 2024 guilty plea, his May 2025 sentencing, his federal custody at Coleman, and his current halfway-house placement – Smith’s two state contractor licenses have remained in “Current, Active” status on the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation’s public database.
License CCC1329326, his Certified Roofing Contractor license, was originally issued January 6, 2010, and is set to expire August 31, 2026. License CGC1518534, his Certified General Contractor license, was originally issued April 6, 2010, and also expires August 31, 2026. Both licenses are held by Smith personally, doing business as G AND G ROOFING CONSTRUCTION INC, at the 456 Gus Hipp Boulevard address. Both list “Construction Business” as a Special Qualification effective the date each license was originally issued.
The DBPR record also shows a third Smith-held license at the same 456 Gus Hipp Boulevard address: FRO9920, a Construction Financial Officer license. This license is held by Smith personally, doing business as ZONE HEATING AND COOLING, with a licensure date of June 14, 2019, and a current status. A Construction Financial Officer is the person certified under Chapter 489 of the Florida Statutes as the financially responsible officer of a construction business organization – the individual personally responsible for the financial conduct, workers’ compensation compliance, and financial-standards integrity of the business. According to Better Business Bureau records, Zone Heating and Cooling is the trade name of ACG Smith Inc., a Florida corporation incorporated May 14, 2019, with Smith listed as Owner and Kristy Smith listed as Vice President. The BBB record explicitly identifies Zone Heating and Cooling as a related business of G and G Roofing Construction, Inc.
DBPR records also show that Smith has a fourth, pending license application: a Certified Mechanical Contractor license, currently listed in “Eligible for Exam” status at the same 456 Gus Hipp Boulevard address. A Certified Mechanical Contractor license, under Chapter 489, authorizes the licensee to perform heating, ventilation, air conditioning, refrigeration, and related mechanical contracting work statewide in Florida. “Eligible for Exam” status means DBPR has reviewed and approved Smith’s application to sit for the certification examination – a clearance that would have required Smith to disclose, on the application, any pending criminal proceedings against him under DBPR’s application disclosures. As of this publication, the “Eligible for Exam” status remains active despite Smith’s federal guilty plea, his sentencing, his incarceration at Coleman, and his current placement at the Orlando Residential Reentry Management office.
The DBPR public licensee record for Smith’s certified roofing contractor license also discloses an open administrative complaint. Under the “View License Complaint” link on license CCC1329326, the Department’s public-facing system reports a single open matter:
The complaint number follows DBPR’s standard intake-year numbering convention, with the first four digits indicating the complaint was opened in calendar year 2025.
Under Florida administrative law, “Settlement Negotiations” is a specific stage in the DBPR disciplinary process. Florida Administrative Code Chapter 28-106 and Chapter 455 of the Florida Statutes set out the standard pathway for a contractor complaint: it begins with intake, proceeds to investigation by DBPR’s Division of Regulation, advances to review by a probable cause panel, and – if probable cause is found – results in the filing of a formal Administrative Complaint by DBPR’s Office of General Counsel. Only after that formal charging step does the matter move to settlement negotiation, formal hearing under Section 120.57, or both. Once a final Settlement Stipulation is negotiated, it must be presented to the Construction Industry Licensing Board at one of its monthly public meetings for final action, after which a public Final Order is entered.
The “Settlement Negotiations” status visible on Smith’s license record therefore reflects a complaint that has cleared the investigation and probable cause stages and is now in the formal pre-Board negotiation phase. The substance of the complaint, the specific statutory violations alleged, the conduct giving rise to the matter, and the terms under discussion are not visible on the public-facing DBPR licensee page and would be available only through a public records request to DBPR. This newsroom has submitted such a request.
The complaint appears on the licensee record for license CCC1329326, the Certified Roofing Contractor license. As of the time of this publication, no public complaint appears on the “View License Complaint” pages for license CGC1518534 (Certified General Contractor), license FRO9920 (Construction Financial Officer for Zone Heating and Cooling), or the pending Certified Mechanical Contractor application.
Whether complaint 2025039875 arises from Smith’s federal human smuggling conviction, from a separate consumer or contracting matter, from a failure to self-report under Section 455.227(1)(t), from a Section 489.1195 qualifying-agent issue arising from Smith’s incarceration, or from some other ground, will be the subject of follow-up reporting once the responsive public records are produced.
Florida construction licenses are issued to individual people, not to companies. Under Florida Statute Section 489.119, every construction business organization in the state must designate a licensed individual called a primary qualifying agent who is personally responsible for the contracting activities of the business. Without a qualifying agent, a Florida construction company cannot legally pull permits, enter into construction contracts, or hold itself out as a contractor.
The DBPR records reviewed for this article show that Smith’s two contractor licenses qualify a single business: G AND G ROOFING CONSTRUCTION INC. Both license CCC1329326 and license CGC1518534 list G&G Roofing Construction Inc as the DBA Name on the licensee record. The same address, 456 Gus Hipp Boulevard in Rockledge, appears on both records.
If DBPR’s settlement negotiations on complaint 2025039875 result in revocation of license CCC1329326, or if the Construction Industry Licensing Board ultimately revokes any of Smith’s licenses after formal hearing, the operational consequences cascade.
Florida Statute Section 489.119(2) requires that G&G Roofing Construction Inc designate a new qualifying agent within sixty days of the loss of its current qualifying agent. If G&G cannot identify another individual on its payroll who already holds an equivalent Florida certified contractor license, the business loses its authority to engage in contracting. Active building permits pulled under the revoked license fall into immediate regulatory limbo. Customer deposits become potential claims under the Construction Industries Recovery Fund, established under Sections 489.140 through 489.143, which is a state-administered fund that compensates consumers for financial losses caused by licensed contractor misconduct.
The Sunbiz corporate record for G&G Roofing Construction Inc lists Jamie G. Mendiola of Mims as Vice President. Whether Mr. Mendiola or any other G&G employee independently holds a Florida certified roofing contractor or certified general contractor license is determinable through the DBPR public licensee database and through a public records request.
The consequences for Smith personally are even more severe. Under Florida Statute Section 489.129(9), any person whose contractor license is revoked is ineligible to be a partner, officer, director, or trustee of any Florida construction business organization, or to be employed in a managerial or supervisory capacity for any construction business, for a period of five years from the effective date of revocation. The same person is also ineligible to reapply for any new contractor license under Chapter 489 for five years.
Applied to Smith, revocation would mean that for five years he could not serve as President of G&G Roofing Construction Inc, of RCS Brevard Inc, of ACG Smith Inc, or of any other Florida construction business organization. He could not be a manager of Corvex Roofing I, LLC or of any related construction entity. He could not be employed in a managerial or supervisory role at any of those businesses. His pending Certified Mechanical Contractor application would be denied and could not be refiled for five years.
Brevard County’s permitting records, reviewed for this article, show that since Mr. Smith’s July 12, 2024 federal guilty plea, the County’s building department has issued 139 building permits to G&G Roofing Construction Inc. under Mr. Smith’s qualifying agent license CCC1329326. Of those 139 permits, 122 are residential reroofs, 9 are commercial projects, and 8 are new residential or addition construction.
Counted against Mr. Smith’s federal criminal timeline, the breakdown is as follows:
The most recent permit identified in the Brevard County dataset reviewed for this article is permit 25BC15434, a permit for a new single-family residence or duplex at 10640 South Tropical Trail in Merritt Island, dated August 12, 2025. That permit was issued under Mr. Smith’s qualifying agent license while Mr. Smith was in physical custody at the federal correctional complex at Coleman, more than 100 miles from Brevard County.
The commercial permits issued under Mr. Smith’s license since the federal guilty plea include three commercial reroofs, four commercial new construction projects, and one commercial renovation, distributed across Brevard County jurisdictions including Melbourne, Cocoa, and Merritt Island. The list of commercial permits issued post-plea includes:
The 139 figure does not include any permits issued by individual incorporated municipalities within Brevard County that maintain their own building departments separate from the County’s system, including the City of Rockledge, where G&G Roofing Construction Inc. is headquartered, and where Mr. Smith holds significant commercial and residential properties. Public records requests are pending with municipal building departments for permit data covering those jurisdictions.
Each of the 139 permits identified represents construction work for which Mr. Smith, as the qualifying agent of record on license CCC1329326, bore personal regulatory responsibility under Section 489.1195 of the Florida Statutes for the active supervision and management of the contracting activity. The statute requires the qualifying agent to maintain primary responsibility for, among other things, supervising the project, the financial conduct of the business in connection with the permit, and compliance with applicable building codes.
While Smith was setting up Winner Architectural Concepts, his original G&G Roofing company was undergoing a rebrand.
On July 25, 2025, a new limited liability company called CORVEX ROOFING I, LLC was filed at the same 456 Gus Hipp Boulevard address. The Corvex website states the company is “Formerly G&G Roofing. Same great team, new ownership!” and identifies David Flickinger as CEO.
However, Florida law requires any roofing contractor to operate under a qualifying agent who holds a state contractor license. A search of the DBPR public licensee database found no Florida certified contractor license under the name David Flickinger.
What the DBPR database does show is this: On October 22, 2025, Jamie Mendiola – Smith’s described “right hand man” – obtained a new Certified Roofing Contractor license, CCC1337099, with the DBA “G AND G ROOFING.” Mendiola’s license record explicitly states he is the “Primary Qualifying Agent for CORVEX ROOFING I, LLC DBA: G AND G ROOFING,” effective October 22, 2025.
This reveals what appears to be a licensing scheme: Smith’s original licenses (CCC1329326 and CGC1518534) remain active in his name. Corvex filed fictitious “G AND G” names in September 2025. Twenty days later, Mendiola obtained a new license to front Corvex. Both structures now pull permits – Smith’s old licenses AND Mendiola’s new license.
If Corvex has been pulling permits under Smith’s licenses while operating under its own brand, that violates Florida law prohibiting acting as a contractor except in the name of the certificateholder. This newsroom has submitted public records requests to determine which permits were pulled under which licenses and when.
Florida law authorizes the Construction Industry Licensing Board to revoke or suspend a contractor’s license under multiple grounds that appear directly applicable to Smith’s federal conviction. Florida Statute § 489.129(1)(b) empowers the Board to impose disciplinary action up to and including revocation when a licensee is:
“Being convicted or found guilty of, or entering a plea of nolo contendere to, regardless of adjudication, a crime in any jurisdiction which directly relates to the practice of contracting or the ability to practice contracting.”
The phrase “in any jurisdiction” expressly includes federal convictions. The phrase “directly relates to the practice of contracting” is the operative legal test.
According to Smith’s own federal plea agreement and the factual record established at his sentencing:
Separately, Florida Statute § 455.227(1)(t) requires every Florida professional licensee, including contractors, to report any criminal conviction or guilty plea to the Department of Business and Professional Regulation in writing within 30 days of the conviction or plea. Failure to self-report is itself a separately disciplinable offense, exposing the licensee to fines, suspension, or revocation independent of the underlying criminal conduct.
Smith pleaded guilty on July 12, 2024. He had until approximately August 11, 2024 – 30 days later – to self-report to DBPR. He was sentenced on May 1, 2025. Whether Smith complied with either deadline is not visible on the public face of his licensee records on myfloridalicense.com, and would be determinable only through a public records request to DBPR.
An additional regulatory concern exists. Florida Statute § 489.1195 requires that the “primary qualifying agent” of a Florida construction business organization be a person who has “the responsibility to supervise, direct, manage, and control the contracting activities of the business organization,” and who is “actively involved” in the business. Smith is the qualifying agent for G&G Roofing Construction Inc. through his two contractor licenses. A federal inmate serving time at a halfway house in Wildwood is not, by any ordinary understanding of the term, actively supervising the day-to-day contracting activities of a roofing company in Rockledge.
The Construction Industry Licensing Board meets monthly to consider disciplinary cases. According to minutes from the May 2025 CILB meeting, the Department’s Office of General Counsel had approximately 800 pending cases at that time. DBPR’s investigative and prosecutorial process typically moves from intake through probable cause review, administrative complaint, settlement negotiation or formal hearing, and finally Board action at a public meeting. As of this publication, no public final order has been entered against either of Smith’s licenses, and neither license shows an active complaint flag in the public-facing DBPR system.
Both licenses are scheduled to come up for renewal on August 31, 2026.
This newsroom has submitted requests to the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation seeking answers to the following questions:
This newsroom has also submitted a request for comment to Smith through his counsel of record in the federal criminal case, Murdoch Walker II of Lowther | Walker LLC in Atlanta. Mr. Walker responded the same afternoon, writing: “Many thanks for reaching out, and I greatly appreciate the opportunity to make a statement; it is much appreciated on my end. Nevertheless, and very respectfully, I will decline to comment.” Mr. Walker did not dispute any of the factual statements presented in the request for comment.
A request for comment directed to David Flickinger, the chief executive officer of Corvex Roofing, has also been submitted regarding the relationship between Corvex Roofing I, LLC and Smith’s still-active G&G Roofing Construction Inc.
This story will be updated as responses are received.
Robert W. Burns III is the editor and publisher of The Space Coast Rocket. The reporting in this article is based on federal court filings in case number 6:24-cr-00186-GAP-RMN in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Bureau of Prisons records, Internal Revenue Service correspondence, Florida Division of Corporations Sunbiz filings, Brevard County Property Appraiser records, and Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation licensee records. All records are public and verifiable.
The Space Coast Rocket will continue to follow this story.
