November 2016
OWNER OF OAKLAND BUILDING THAT CAUGHT ON FIRE BEING SUED BY FORMER TENANTS
The owner of the building next door also says she had to hire an attorney at one point against him because of some demolition work he was doing.
Federal agents from the Department of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms are at the scene investigating what may have caused the fire.
Fire investigators have not said whether they think this was set on purpose, but former tenants have their suspicions as they are suing him for starting demolition work while they still lived here. They believe it was retaliation because they had made complaints about their living conditions.
The attorney representing the former tenants spoke to ABC7 News Tuesday morning. "In this particular instance where you've got a landlord that's willing to obtain demolition permits and start demolition on a large scale and bring in big machinery while people are still living in a unit," attorney Michael Bracamontes said.
The apartment building was under construction when the fire broke out and wasn't set to be completed until next year.
The fire damaged the home next door, displacing three people.
http://abc7news.com/news/owner-of-oakland-building-that-caught-on-fire-was-in-legal-trouble/1583949/
November 2016
OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- A fire destroyed the building on Lester Avenue Monday, there are new details about the owner and a lawsuit over the building
We're learning some new things about the man who owns the unfinished apartment building that burned up in Oakland Monday morning. It's a lawsuit that predates the fire by two years.
The owner of the unfinished apartment complex that went up in flames, is the object of a lawsuit by several tenants who were evicted from the property two years ago to make room for the now gutted project.
At that time, the plaintiff's in the lawsuit lived in an older home owned by Athan Magganas.
"It's a combination of things. They had a rodent infestation problem that the city of Oakland cited the landlord for. There were other habitability issues such as a lack of heat," said attorney Michael Bracamontes. "There were leaks during the rainy season. There was mold in the unit."
Last year the tenants filed a lawsuit alleging Magganas used aggressive and illegal tactics to evict them and then retaliated against the tenants by starting to demolish the home while they were still in it.
http://abc7news.com/news/building-owner-says-oakland-fire-is-a-terrible-tragedy/1584410/
Did anyone really look into the Inspecton history of this building? Appears to be a significant number of code violations (and stop work orders) associated with the work:
Record ID: B1304988
Address: 317 LESTER AVE
APN: 021 022703000
August 2015
Disregard comments in other entry dated this day. It was entered without me having full information regarding this job. Spoke with Athan McManus 510-520-1482 and informed him of the following:
1) I am rescinding yesterday's approval to pour, and he is NOT to pour any more foundation until he conforms with code and City requirements.
2) The special inspector he is using (Al Masso) is not certified as special inspector, and is not approved by City of Oakland for use as a special inspector. Mr. Masso had approved rebar, shoring and soil in his report presented to me by contractor. Gave Mr McManus information as to how he can go about having Mr Masso approved as special inspector by City, and that he may use the design engineer or other approved inspector.
3) No grading inspections have been scheduled or done, and there is no record of any soils inspections or reports. Informed Mr. McManus that he is NOT APPROVED for second pour of slab matt until he has special inspection by approved inspector and produces soils report/inspection by approved geotech. Explained to him that further work may result in Stop Work Order being issued.
http://documents.scribd.com.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/163meaig004s541n.pdf
October 2013
Huge Balls of Flames:' Five-Alarm Fire Erupts in Oakland Near Lake Merritt
Neighbor Natalie Cone also said she didn't like how the previous tenants, mostly artists, were "kicked out" of their homes to pave way for the 41-unit project that the developer said was 80 percent complete by the time of the fire.
"A house full of painters, performance artists, people who had deep roots in the community, and they were kicked out of that place," she said.
Just after 5 a.m., crews descended on 317 Lester Ave. to put out the flames in a building that was supposed to be unoccupied. Athan Magganas owns the property, and his company, Adelophos, LLC was currently developing the project. He was issued a permit by the city in 2015 to begin work on the project, which was valued at $6 million, records indicate.
http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Fire-Erupts-in-Oakland-Near-Lake-Merritt-399303711.html
October 2016
Oakland: 5-alarm fire guts vacant building near Lake Merritt
OAKLAND — A five-alarm fire ripped through an apartment building under construction near Lake Merritt early Monday, sending flames more than 30 feet into the air and forcing neighbors to evacuate and watch as firefighters kept the blaze from spreading to nearby homes.
Fire officials estimated damage to be at least $1 million. The fire is being investigated jointly by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the National Explosives Task Force (an arm of the ATF), and Oakland fire.
Two people in an adjacent duplex were displaced, and some people were treated for minor injuries and an anxiety attack, officials said.
Fire crews first responded to the 300 block of Lester Avenue, near Hanover Avenue, at 5:07 a.m. and found the five-story, 41-unit building engulfed in flames.
The structure, being developed by Athan Magganas and his company, Adelphos, LLC, had scaffolding on all four sides.The fire also threatened several other structures in the area, and crews evacuated between 100 and 200 residents in those buildings, Oakland Battalion Fire Chief Lisa Baker said.
“We evacuated the buildings on all three sides of it as a precaution,” she said. “Embers were flying around, because of the wind, and our main concern when we got there was protecting the other structures. The apartments under renovation were destroyed when we arrived.”
http://www.eastbaytimes.com/2016/10/31/oakland-crews-fight-3-alarm-fire-near-lake-merritt/
October 2016
Huge blaze rips through unfinished Oakland apartment complex
As firefighters snuffed out pockets of smoldering wood and debris, investigators began probing the cause of a massive fire early Monday in Oakland that eviscerated a three-story apartment complex under construction east of Lake Merritt.
The fire was reported around 5 a.m. at the unfinished 41-unit building on the 300 block of Lester Avenue and quickly grew to an inferno that was visible for miles, radiating in the predawn darkness.
http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Fire-engulfs-unfinished-building-near-Lake-10424575.php
November 2007
Pleasant Hill man charged in dad's killing, car crash that injured 3
PST PLEASANT HILL - A Pleasant Hill man was charged today with murder for allegedly beating his father to death and three counts of attempted murder for allegedly ramming a vehicle in Concord intentionally while driving drunk after the slaying.
Peter Magganas, 24, was also charged with an enhancement of using a deadly weapon in the slaying Sunday of Evangelos Magganas, 56, of Pleasant Hill.
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Pleasant-Hill-man-charged-in-dad-s-killing-car-3300743.php
Peter Magganas (24) beat his father to death with a pipe wrench
A Contra Costa County Superior Court judge Wednesday found a Pleasant Hill man accused of beating his father to death with a pipe wrench in November incompetent to stand trial.
http://www.mydeathspace.com/article/2008/06/03/Peter_Magganas_(24)_beat_his_father_to_death_with_a_pipe_wrench
