a contractor's license. >> you know you need a lot of work done out here. >> i'm going to show him some things that i know do require a license to do, and i'm going to ask him for a ballpark figure. >> i think you're between 8,000 and 10,000. >> 8,000 and 10,000? >> yeah. >> okay. >> if he gives me any figure that exceeds $500 or more for the work i asked him to do, again, i'm going to let him know that he's been caught in a contractors board sting operation. >> hey, partner, my name is karl vega. i'm an officer with the state of california. do you have a contractor's license? >> nope. >> okay. you're under arrest. i need you to put that down. interlace your fingers. >> do you recognize that? >> yep. >> where's that come out of? >> the yellow pages. >> investigators set up shop in dummy houses. this contractor was caught in a sting bidding on a new job just days after abandoning an $11,000 landscaping project.