Oakland SRO Tenants Sue Tech Housing Investors for Harassment
https://www.eastbayexpress.com/SevenDays/archives/2016/07/11/oakland-sro-tenants-sue-tech-housing-investors-for-harassment
Residents of the Hotel Travelers allege that their new landlord, Danny Haber, is trying to push them out of their homes. Last Friday, some of the building's residents filed suit against Haber to stop what they characterize as a pattern and practice of harassment.
The Hotel Travelers is one of Oakland's dwindling number of SRO hotels. According to city staff, SROs are "naturally occurring" affordable housing that should be preserved, but recently, investors like Haber have purchased SRO buildings with the intent of remodeling them into boutique hotels or apartments for more affluent renters or tourists.
Unlike San Francisco, Los Angeles, and other cities, Oakland has no laws to preserve existing SRO housing.
According to the tenants' lawsuit, since purchasing the Hotel Travelers, Haber has reduced maid services, causing trash to pile up in the hallways, removed mailboxes and the 24-hour front desk service,making the building less secure, removed the building's wifi, and allowed the elevator to go unfixed for weeks, forcing elderly and disabled residents to walk up narrow flights of stairs.
See also: Last Days at Downtown Oakland's Hotel Travelers?
Residents say that Haber has already convinced all but two residents to vacate the 5th and 6th floors of the building, and that contractors have gutted the interiors of these floors to the studs and ripped giant holes in the ceilings.
On Twitter, Joshua Daniels, who lives on the 5th floor, accused Haber of ripping the building's interior out without valid building permits.
The lawsuit alleges that when residents of the 5th and 6th floors asked if they would be able to return to their units once the construction is completed, Haber told them only if they could pay $2,000 per month in rent. Most of the building's residents currently pay under $1,000 per month in rent. Haber also allegedly told the tenants that he planned to open a "beer garden" on the rooftop.
Named alongside Haber in the lawsuit as co-defendants are Dion Ross and Alon Gutman.
Ross describes himself as a "Executive Analyst Product / Project Implementations / Resource Relations & Logistics" specialist. Ross is managing the Hotel Travelers on a day-to-day basis for Haber.
Reached by phone recently, Ross denied allegations made by the tenants in their lawsuit and said that all activities undertaken by Haber and himself have been legal, and tenants were provided with all proper notices.
Gutman is a co-investor and co-founder of The Negev, LLC, a company he runs with Haber that converts housing into tech co-ops. Gutman and Haber reportedly named their company after the Negev Desert of southern Israel, and the historic efforts of the Israeli government to build settlements there. They purchased the Hotel Travelers in April of this year.
Representing the tenants in their lawsuit is Robert Salinas of the Sundeen Salinas and Pyle law firm. Last month Salinas, along with Oakland City Attorney Barbara Parker, filed a similar lawsuit against James Kilpatrick after Kilpatrick purchased an SRO building on 8th Street inhabited mostly by elderly Chinese.
Both lawsuits take advantage of Oakland's Tenant Protection Ordinance, a law Councilmember Dan Kalb wrote in 2014 in an effort to curb efforts by landlords to harass and displace lower-income tenants.
Showing posts with label #EVICTIONS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #EVICTIONS. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 6, 2018
Thursday, November 1, 2018
161 Oakland finds likely collusion between Oakland Building Inspector, property owner in eviction
Oakland Building Inspectors have been colluding with property owners in tenant evictions
https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Oakland-finds-likely-collusion-between-inspector-13040708.php
An Oakland building inspector likely colluded with a property owner in 2016 to evict tenants from a building by improperly declaring it unsafe, according to internal documents released by the city, which described its employee’s behavior as “a violation of the public trust.”
The six tenants moved out of the West Oakland building in April that year and have been out since. The city rescinded the red tags two weeks after they were posted and told the property owner he should let the tenants return — even though the building, a commercial property that had been used as a live-work space, did not have city permits for residency.
The episode occurred months before the deadly Ghost Ship fire at an artists’ collective drew attention to the dangers of unpermitted residences and the city’s lax oversight of such properties.
The inspector, Thomas Espinosa, who worked in the city’s Planning and Building Department for 11 years, resigned in November 2016 after Oakland officials moved to fire him. His bosses said he abused his authority that spring when he red-tagged the building at 661 27th St. and ordered the tenants to leave, according to a copy of the city’s “notice of intent to terminate” letter.
Attorneys for Espinosa and property owner Patrick MacIntyre said the men did not collude to evict tenants. Espinosa’s attorney, Quynh Chen, said her client was simply doing his job and did nothing wrong — with one exception, which she called an honest mistake. She said city officials “dramatized” the facts in the case.
“There was no bad intent,” she said. “Basically there was a misunderstanding between Mr. Espinosa and his supervisors, and he took the bullet for it.”
MacIntyre’s attorney, David Sternfeld, said the tenants should not have been living in the building in the first place.
The Chronicle obtained the ex-inspector’s personnel file under a public records request. A federal grand jury and the FBI subpoenaed the city last fall to get Espinosa’s files, too. Spokesmen for the FBI and the U.S. attorney’s office in San Francisco said they had no public information to disclose, and declined to comment.
The records include the intent-to-terminate letter written by Darin Ranelletti, the department head at the time who now works as Mayor Libby Schaaf’s policy director for housing security. Ranelletti said in the letter that Espinosa jeopardized public trust with a series of inconsistent statements and questionable behavior.
His letter said the ex-inspector displayed a “documented pattern of abusing city resources and authority,” but that one incident in particular — the suspected collusion that culminated in an April 7, 2016, eviction — amounted to “serious misconduct.” The letter describes the incident in detail.
For years, court records show, MacIntyre, the owner of the building on 27th Street, had been trying to evict the tenants. A group of mostly artists, they had been living at the two-story building under a live-work lease initially signed by a previous owner before the property went into foreclosure and was bought by MacIntyre.
His building was once home to a French bakery, and wasn’t authorized to be used as a residence.
Espinosa said that as he drove to the office on April 6, 2016, he happened upon trash and graffiti outside the building, according to statements he gave to his supervisors and in court. Even though it was outside the district he was assigned to inspect, Espinosa stopped to take pictures. He said he saw construction going on through the open door.
Espinosa said he went back to the office and found that there were no permits for construction, so he posted a number of stop-work notices and scheduled an inspection for the next day. After the inspection, Espinosa said in the statement, he found safety hazards, including a lack of fire escapes, and red-tagged the building.
Espinosa should not have done that without first getting approval from a supervisor, Ranelletti said. When his bosses questioned him about his actions, Espinosa told them he had no prior contact with MacIntyre, according to Ranelletti’s termination letter.
But city officials reviewed his work phone records and found Espinosa had called MacIntyre’s cell phone three times two days before his purportedly impromptu inspection. And on that morning, April 6, between 5 and 7 a.m., Espinosa called MacIntyre twice, and MacIntyre called him once, according to Ranelletti’s letter and a phone log included in the personnel file reviewed by The Chronicle.
Chen said Espinosa was likely “drowning in paperwork” and forgot about the calls.
Two days later, Espinosa helped MacIntyre fill out a form that would have given him a permit to do work on the building, according to Ranelletti.
Later that year, Espinosa provided a declaration for MacIntyre to use in his litigation against the tenants in which he stated that he came across “voluminous amounts of marijuana” during his walk-through of the building. Yet city officials said that observation did not comport with his inspection records.
“If it was true that there was cannabis on site, then you should have reported that to your superiors and/or zoning investigator ... immediately after your inspection,” Ranelletti wrote. “You did not do either. You also provided no photographs to substantiate your claim.
“These facts strongly suggest collusion with the owner and that your inspection of the 27th Street building was outside the scope of your job as a city employee and quite possibly for personal gain,” he continued. “Had your actions gone undiscovered, you would have caused the indefinite displacement of multiple families.”
The six tenants were indefinitely displaced.
One of them — Christine Shepherd, 43, an artist who specializes in 19th century photographic processing — couch-surfed for a few months and ultimately moved to Oregon because she couldn’t afford Bay Area rents. She had lived at the West Oakland building for seven years and her boyfriend for more than a decade. She said it was safe.
“We had no idea that that was coming,” she said of the inspection and eviction. “It was like absolute panic. Your stomach just goes into a knot and you can’t think straight and you don’t know what your next step is going to be.”
Another tenant, Michael Taylor, 46, has been staying with friends and sleeping in his camper van ever since.
Despite Espinosa’s bosses ordering the red tags to be removed and the tenants to be allowed to move back in two weeks later, Kevin Greenquist, the tenants’ attorney, said MacIntyre did not do so and changed the locks.
Chen said the one mistake Espinosa made was delegating the removal of the red tag notices to MacIntyre, rather than doing it himself. Other than that, she said, he was doing what his position required. Chen said the city exaggerated its claims against her client so it wouldn’t be sued for wrongful termination.
Had there been collusion, the city would have provided documentation in the termination letter, Chen said.
“He should’ve just not done his job and stayed silent and not returned phone calls out of fear of favoritism,” she said. “If I worked for the city of Oakland and I wanted to show evidence of collusion I would attach financial records, actual evidence.”
She said Espinosa was not responsible for the evictions.
It’s unclear whether the 2016 case was an isolated event. The city Public Ethics Commission has an open investigation to determine whether Espinosa violated policies covering conflicts of interest, misuse of city resources, misuse of city position and more.
Oakland officials did not answer The Chronicle’s repeated questions about whether they investigated other cases to see if there was a pattern of improper interactions with other property owners and tenants.
City records show that officials became aware of the employee’s misconduct only after tenants and their attorney complained to Espinosa’s supervisors about his actions, prompting the internal review that led to the termination letter.
“I called the city of Oakland because I wanted to know, can they just make me homeless?” Shepherd said. “I guess I sort of trusted in city officials and democracy working for us.”
Greenquist said he was “outraged” that the city didn’t tell him that it found Espinosa likely colluded with the property owner. Greenquist said he was concerned there could be other similar cases.
“The city knew all this and didn’t say a word about it,” he said. “If you have a rogue inspector and find out all this stuff, why do you bury it when it could just be the tip of the iceberg?”
Greenquist continues to represent the tenants in their court fight with MacIntyre over whether the tenants were wrongfully evicted and what, if anything, they are owed.
The lawyer, who was with the tenants when the building was red-tagged, remembered Espinosa telling them they could be arrested if they returned to the premises. He said they had three hours to collect their belongings.
MacIntyre’s attorney, Sternfeld, said the tenants left on their own accord and should never have been living there in the first place. Sternfeld said the city’s finding of coordination between his client and the inspector was wrong.
“I can guarantee to you that my client did not collude with Mr. Espinosa,” he said.
Despite city officials concluding that Espinosa made false statements, the written declaration in which he testified about coming across hazards such as the cannabis grow continue to be used in the civil litigation.
Alameda County Superior Court Judge Scott Patton relied on that statement — which the city implied might contain falsehoods — in deciding a recent motion filed by the tenants.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Oakland-finds-likely-collusion-between-inspector-13040708.php
An Oakland building inspector likely colluded with a property owner in 2016 to evict tenants from a building by improperly declaring it unsafe, according to internal documents released by the city, which described its employee’s behavior as “a violation of the public trust.”
The six tenants moved out of the West Oakland building in April that year and have been out since. The city rescinded the red tags two weeks after they were posted and told the property owner he should let the tenants return — even though the building, a commercial property that had been used as a live-work space, did not have city permits for residency.
The episode occurred months before the deadly Ghost Ship fire at an artists’ collective drew attention to the dangers of unpermitted residences and the city’s lax oversight of such properties.
The inspector, Thomas Espinosa, who worked in the city’s Planning and Building Department for 11 years, resigned in November 2016 after Oakland officials moved to fire him. His bosses said he abused his authority that spring when he red-tagged the building at 661 27th St. and ordered the tenants to leave, according to a copy of the city’s “notice of intent to terminate” letter.
Attorneys for Espinosa and property owner Patrick MacIntyre said the men did not collude to evict tenants. Espinosa’s attorney, Quynh Chen, said her client was simply doing his job and did nothing wrong — with one exception, which she called an honest mistake. She said city officials “dramatized” the facts in the case.
“There was no bad intent,” she said. “Basically there was a misunderstanding between Mr. Espinosa and his supervisors, and he took the bullet for it.”
MacIntyre’s attorney, David Sternfeld, said the tenants should not have been living in the building in the first place.
The Chronicle obtained the ex-inspector’s personnel file under a public records request. A federal grand jury and the FBI subpoenaed the city last fall to get Espinosa’s files, too. Spokesmen for the FBI and the U.S. attorney’s office in San Francisco said they had no public information to disclose, and declined to comment.
The records include the intent-to-terminate letter written by Darin Ranelletti, the department head at the time who now works as Mayor Libby Schaaf’s policy director for housing security. Ranelletti said in the letter that Espinosa jeopardized public trust with a series of inconsistent statements and questionable behavior.
His letter said the ex-inspector displayed a “documented pattern of abusing city resources and authority,” but that one incident in particular — the suspected collusion that culminated in an April 7, 2016, eviction — amounted to “serious misconduct.” The letter describes the incident in detail.
For years, court records show, MacIntyre, the owner of the building on 27th Street, had been trying to evict the tenants. A group of mostly artists, they had been living at the two-story building under a live-work lease initially signed by a previous owner before the property went into foreclosure and was bought by MacIntyre.
His building was once home to a French bakery, and wasn’t authorized to be used as a residence.
Espinosa said that as he drove to the office on April 6, 2016, he happened upon trash and graffiti outside the building, according to statements he gave to his supervisors and in court. Even though it was outside the district he was assigned to inspect, Espinosa stopped to take pictures. He said he saw construction going on through the open door.
Espinosa said he went back to the office and found that there were no permits for construction, so he posted a number of stop-work notices and scheduled an inspection for the next day. After the inspection, Espinosa said in the statement, he found safety hazards, including a lack of fire escapes, and red-tagged the building.
Espinosa should not have done that without first getting approval from a supervisor, Ranelletti said. When his bosses questioned him about his actions, Espinosa told them he had no prior contact with MacIntyre, according to Ranelletti’s termination letter.
But city officials reviewed his work phone records and found Espinosa had called MacIntyre’s cell phone three times two days before his purportedly impromptu inspection. And on that morning, April 6, between 5 and 7 a.m., Espinosa called MacIntyre twice, and MacIntyre called him once, according to Ranelletti’s letter and a phone log included in the personnel file reviewed by The Chronicle.
Chen said Espinosa was likely “drowning in paperwork” and forgot about the calls.
Two days later, Espinosa helped MacIntyre fill out a form that would have given him a permit to do work on the building, according to Ranelletti.
Later that year, Espinosa provided a declaration for MacIntyre to use in his litigation against the tenants in which he stated that he came across “voluminous amounts of marijuana” during his walk-through of the building. Yet city officials said that observation did not comport with his inspection records.
“If it was true that there was cannabis on site, then you should have reported that to your superiors and/or zoning investigator ... immediately after your inspection,” Ranelletti wrote. “You did not do either. You also provided no photographs to substantiate your claim.
“These facts strongly suggest collusion with the owner and that your inspection of the 27th Street building was outside the scope of your job as a city employee and quite possibly for personal gain,” he continued. “Had your actions gone undiscovered, you would have caused the indefinite displacement of multiple families.”
The six tenants were indefinitely displaced.
One of them — Christine Shepherd, 43, an artist who specializes in 19th century photographic processing — couch-surfed for a few months and ultimately moved to Oregon because she couldn’t afford Bay Area rents. She had lived at the West Oakland building for seven years and her boyfriend for more than a decade. She said it was safe.
“We had no idea that that was coming,” she said of the inspection and eviction. “It was like absolute panic. Your stomach just goes into a knot and you can’t think straight and you don’t know what your next step is going to be.”
Another tenant, Michael Taylor, 46, has been staying with friends and sleeping in his camper van ever since.
Despite Espinosa’s bosses ordering the red tags to be removed and the tenants to be allowed to move back in two weeks later, Kevin Greenquist, the tenants’ attorney, said MacIntyre did not do so and changed the locks.
Chen said the one mistake Espinosa made was delegating the removal of the red tag notices to MacIntyre, rather than doing it himself. Other than that, she said, he was doing what his position required. Chen said the city exaggerated its claims against her client so it wouldn’t be sued for wrongful termination.
Had there been collusion, the city would have provided documentation in the termination letter, Chen said.
“He should’ve just not done his job and stayed silent and not returned phone calls out of fear of favoritism,” she said. “If I worked for the city of Oakland and I wanted to show evidence of collusion I would attach financial records, actual evidence.”
She said Espinosa was not responsible for the evictions.
It’s unclear whether the 2016 case was an isolated event. The city Public Ethics Commission has an open investigation to determine whether Espinosa violated policies covering conflicts of interest, misuse of city resources, misuse of city position and more.
Oakland officials did not answer The Chronicle’s repeated questions about whether they investigated other cases to see if there was a pattern of improper interactions with other property owners and tenants.
City records show that officials became aware of the employee’s misconduct only after tenants and their attorney complained to Espinosa’s supervisors about his actions, prompting the internal review that led to the termination letter.
“I called the city of Oakland because I wanted to know, can they just make me homeless?” Shepherd said. “I guess I sort of trusted in city officials and democracy working for us.”
Greenquist said he was “outraged” that the city didn’t tell him that it found Espinosa likely colluded with the property owner. Greenquist said he was concerned there could be other similar cases.
“The city knew all this and didn’t say a word about it,” he said. “If you have a rogue inspector and find out all this stuff, why do you bury it when it could just be the tip of the iceberg?”
Greenquist continues to represent the tenants in their court fight with MacIntyre over whether the tenants were wrongfully evicted and what, if anything, they are owed.
The lawyer, who was with the tenants when the building was red-tagged, remembered Espinosa telling them they could be arrested if they returned to the premises. He said they had three hours to collect their belongings.
MacIntyre’s attorney, Sternfeld, said the tenants left on their own accord and should never have been living there in the first place. Sternfeld said the city’s finding of coordination between his client and the inspector was wrong.
“I can guarantee to you that my client did not collude with Mr. Espinosa,” he said.
Despite city officials concluding that Espinosa made false statements, the written declaration in which he testified about coming across hazards such as the cannabis grow continue to be used in the civil litigation.
Alameda County Superior Court Judge Scott Patton relied on that statement — which the city implied might contain falsehoods — in deciding a recent motion filed by the tenants.
154 Oakland Bldg Department - Former Oakland Building Inspector Accused of Shakedowns, Bribery, and Colluding with Landlords to Displace Tenants
Former Oakland Building Inspector Accused of Shakedowns, Bribery, and Colluding with Landlords to Displace Tenants
Accused by department leaders in 2016 of colluding with a landlord to displace tenants, Thomas Espinosa now faces over $1 million in penalties for alleged corruption.
https://www.eastbayexpress.com/SevenDays/archives/2018/10/26/oakland-building-inspector-accused-of-shakedowns-bribery-and-colluding-with-landlords-to-displace-tenants
Oakland Public Ethics Commission investigators are accusing a former city building inspector of receiving several hundred thousand dollars in bribes and other illicit payments from landlords and hiding these illegal payments while he was employed by Oakland.
Thomas Espinosa, a specialty combination inspector employed by the city from 2005 to 2016 is being charged with 47 violations of Oakland's Government Ethics Act.
PEC staff are recommending he be ordered to pay $1,151,737 in penalties.
Espinosa resigned after department officials tried to fire him in 2016 for colluding with a landlord to push tenants out of a West Oakland building. He was suspected of taking kickbacks from the property owner for his assistance.
But according to PEC investigators, Espinosa's corrupt behavior was much more far-reaching than just a single building. He used his position as an inspector to shake down at least one property owner for money while he colluded with others in order to help them pass inspections, or dismiss code violation cases. He also illegally worked as a contractor on properties that he was also inspecting. He hid this illegal income from the city and never reported it on his conflict of interest disclosure forms.
In one case, Espinosa assisted landlord Elizabeth Williams in closing out complaints about dangerous and uninhabitable conditions at several of the 15 West Oakland apartments and houses she owns, according to PEC investigators.
In 2009, the city took legal action against Williams and made to enter into an injunction requiring that she maintain safe and sanitary rental housing. Espinosa was initially assigned as the official inspector for these properties to ensure Williams was complying with the injunction.
But by 2015, Espinosa was being paid personally by Williams while looking the other way regarding complaints, and helping her dismiss new complaints, according to PEC staff. Williams also hired him as a contractor to perform work on the properties, despite the obvious conflict of interest.
According to PEC inspectors, in 2014 other inspectors in the building department verified violations at one of Williams properties, located on 24th Street in West Oakland, and opened a code enforcement case against her.
But Espinosa intervened, accepted payments of $112,000 from Williams, and then in October 2015 he closed out the code enforcement case against her.
In another case, Espinosa coerced Alexandre Machado, the owner of a single family home on Valley View Road, by slapping a stop work order on Machado's property, which was being remodeled. Espinosa then personally asked Machado to pay him to lift the order.
In total, Espinosa made Machado pay him $12,850 to legalize building permits.
In yet another case, Espinosa had a real estate broker meet him outside of Oakland City Hall where the two discussed ways of addressing building code violations on a single family home that was listed for sale. According to PEC investigators, Espinosa asked the broker, Bill Charman, to write him a personal check for $1,500 to resolve the code violation case. Charman wrote the check, which Espinosa deposited in his personal bank account, PEC investigators wrote in their report. Espinosa then waived fees for Charman and changed the status of the code violation case to "abated" without inspecting the property.
Espinosa is also being charged with misusing city vehicles, a computer, printer, and cell phone to conduct personal business.
PEC investigators are requesting that Espinosa's case be referred to an administrative hearing comprised of three members of the Public Ethics Commission.
Espinosa could not be immediately reached for comment.
Accused by department leaders in 2016 of colluding with a landlord to displace tenants, Thomas Espinosa now faces over $1 million in penalties for alleged corruption.
https://www.eastbayexpress.com/SevenDays/archives/2018/10/26/oakland-building-inspector-accused-of-shakedowns-bribery-and-colluding-with-landlords-to-displace-tenants
Oakland Public Ethics Commission investigators are accusing a former city building inspector of receiving several hundred thousand dollars in bribes and other illicit payments from landlords and hiding these illegal payments while he was employed by Oakland.
Thomas Espinosa, a specialty combination inspector employed by the city from 2005 to 2016 is being charged with 47 violations of Oakland's Government Ethics Act.
PEC staff are recommending he be ordered to pay $1,151,737 in penalties.
Espinosa resigned after department officials tried to fire him in 2016 for colluding with a landlord to push tenants out of a West Oakland building. He was suspected of taking kickbacks from the property owner for his assistance.
But according to PEC investigators, Espinosa's corrupt behavior was much more far-reaching than just a single building. He used his position as an inspector to shake down at least one property owner for money while he colluded with others in order to help them pass inspections, or dismiss code violation cases. He also illegally worked as a contractor on properties that he was also inspecting. He hid this illegal income from the city and never reported it on his conflict of interest disclosure forms.
In one case, Espinosa assisted landlord Elizabeth Williams in closing out complaints about dangerous and uninhabitable conditions at several of the 15 West Oakland apartments and houses she owns, according to PEC investigators.
In 2009, the city took legal action against Williams and made to enter into an injunction requiring that she maintain safe and sanitary rental housing. Espinosa was initially assigned as the official inspector for these properties to ensure Williams was complying with the injunction.
But by 2015, Espinosa was being paid personally by Williams while looking the other way regarding complaints, and helping her dismiss new complaints, according to PEC staff. Williams also hired him as a contractor to perform work on the properties, despite the obvious conflict of interest.
According to PEC inspectors, in 2014 other inspectors in the building department verified violations at one of Williams properties, located on 24th Street in West Oakland, and opened a code enforcement case against her.
But Espinosa intervened, accepted payments of $112,000 from Williams, and then in October 2015 he closed out the code enforcement case against her.
In another case, Espinosa coerced Alexandre Machado, the owner of a single family home on Valley View Road, by slapping a stop work order on Machado's property, which was being remodeled. Espinosa then personally asked Machado to pay him to lift the order.
In total, Espinosa made Machado pay him $12,850 to legalize building permits.
In yet another case, Espinosa had a real estate broker meet him outside of Oakland City Hall where the two discussed ways of addressing building code violations on a single family home that was listed for sale. According to PEC investigators, Espinosa asked the broker, Bill Charman, to write him a personal check for $1,500 to resolve the code violation case. Charman wrote the check, which Espinosa deposited in his personal bank account, PEC investigators wrote in their report. Espinosa then waived fees for Charman and changed the status of the code violation case to "abated" without inspecting the property.
Espinosa is also being charged with misusing city vehicles, a computer, printer, and cell phone to conduct personal business.
PEC investigators are requesting that Espinosa's case be referred to an administrative hearing comprised of three members of the Public Ethics Commission.
Espinosa could not be immediately reached for comment.
153 Oakland Bldg Department - Building inspector took thousands of dollars in bribes, undisclosed payments
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2018/10/30/report-oakland-building-inspector-took-bribes-undisclosed-payments/
Report: Oakland building inspector took thousands of dollars in bribes, undisclosed payments
OAKLAND — A former city building inspector accused of taking thousands of dollars in bribes and other payments from people whose properties he was inspecting could get slapped with a million-dollar-plus fine.
Thomas Espinosa took $2,700 in bribes from people whose buildings he was inspecting and failed to disclose to the city that he received more than $300,000 for contracting work and other work from people whose properties he was inspecting, according to a report from investigators for the city’s Public Ethics Commission.
The report alleges Espinosa — who worked for the city from 2005 to 2016 — committed 47 ethics violations. The maximum penalty for all those violations — which include accepting bribes, misusing public money and using city authority to coerce — totals $1,151,737. Investigators will present their report Nov. 5 to the commission, which could decide then whether to pursue fining Espinosa.
This is the Public Ethics Commission’s largest case based on the number of alleged violations and penalty amount, executive director Whitney Barazoto told this news organization. She confirmed that the commission has passed along its findings to law enforcement.
Efforts to reach Espinosa were unsuccessful.
The investigation began in October 2016, after Espinosa stopped working for the city. Documents obtained through a public records request and posted on the city’s website show Espinosa resigned in August 2016 after being issued a notice of termination.
The report details his interactions with landlords, a real estate agent and property owners during his last few years on the job.
Espinosa was assigned to inspect properties owned by a landlord who was sued by the city for failing to take care of about a dozen properties and for housing tenants in dilapidated, unhealthy apartments. A judge ordered the landlord in 2009 to bring the properties up to code and Espinosa monitored the effort until 2015, the report says. At the same time, the landlord loaned Espinosa $100,000 and paid him $76,179 for contracting work and consulting services, the report says.
Although inspectors are required to file annual statements listing their economic interests, Espinosa didn’t disclose the contracting work for 2015 and 2016 and never told his superiors about the loan, according to the report. He also never repaid the loan and the landlord has not attempted to recover it, the report adds.
Espinosa also solicited a total of $1,200 from the landlord in return for passing inspections at four of the properties that previously had failed, according to the report.
In addition, the report says, Espinosa was assigned in 2013 to inspect a house on Rifle Lane where he found some code violations. A broker tried to sell the property a few years later, and in 2016 met with Espinosa in front of City Hall and gave him a personal check for $1,500 to resolve the outstanding permit issues, the report says.
That same day, the broker applied for building, electrical and plumbing permits for the property, and Espinosa waived the code violation fees, as well as other requirements, the report notes. Espinosa scheduled himself to inspect the property after that and marked the code violations as “abated” within two minutes of scheduling it, the report says. Espinosa never disclosed that the broker paid him.
Espinosa also received $12,800 from the owner of a house on Valley View Road. The owner bought the property as an investment with the intention of fixing and selling it. After the owner applied for building permits to replace the roof and repair rot — and paid Espinosa $1,900 — Espinosa issued a “stop-work” order.
The report didn’t say what the $1,900 was for, but noted the stop-work order was fictitious and never was recorded with the building department, the report says.
“Respondent used the stop-work order to coerce (the owner) into providing (Espinosa) with more payments,” the report states.
Espinosa also issued a stop-work order against a property on Lawlor Street for code violations involving a conversion of the building’s attic and basement. He passed the inspections a week after the owner agreed to pay him $21,500, the report states.
A similar scenario occurred with a house on Manila Avenue in 2014. Espinosa issued a stop-work order there, but a year later cleared the permits after the owner paid him $66,277 for “real estate services and general contracting work,” the report states.
Espinosa never disclosed that money, nor the fact that he was the president of One Development and Investment Corp., a real estate company owned by the Manila Avenue property owner, the report says. Espinosa received $19,770 from the company in 2015, the report adds.
Espinosa also received money for “consulting services” from a construction company and several businessmen in 2015 that he never disclosed. He also drove a city-owned vehicle to Orinda to conduct personal business, used a city-owned computer and printer to print hundreds of pages of “personal materials” and used a city-owned cell phone to make 587 minutes of personal calls while on vacation, the report says.
Report: Oakland building inspector took thousands of dollars in bribes, undisclosed payments
OAKLAND — A former city building inspector accused of taking thousands of dollars in bribes and other payments from people whose properties he was inspecting could get slapped with a million-dollar-plus fine.
Thomas Espinosa took $2,700 in bribes from people whose buildings he was inspecting and failed to disclose to the city that he received more than $300,000 for contracting work and other work from people whose properties he was inspecting, according to a report from investigators for the city’s Public Ethics Commission.
The report alleges Espinosa — who worked for the city from 2005 to 2016 — committed 47 ethics violations. The maximum penalty for all those violations — which include accepting bribes, misusing public money and using city authority to coerce — totals $1,151,737. Investigators will present their report Nov. 5 to the commission, which could decide then whether to pursue fining Espinosa.
This is the Public Ethics Commission’s largest case based on the number of alleged violations and penalty amount, executive director Whitney Barazoto told this news organization. She confirmed that the commission has passed along its findings to law enforcement.
Efforts to reach Espinosa were unsuccessful.
The investigation began in October 2016, after Espinosa stopped working for the city. Documents obtained through a public records request and posted on the city’s website show Espinosa resigned in August 2016 after being issued a notice of termination.
The report details his interactions with landlords, a real estate agent and property owners during his last few years on the job.
Espinosa was assigned to inspect properties owned by a landlord who was sued by the city for failing to take care of about a dozen properties and for housing tenants in dilapidated, unhealthy apartments. A judge ordered the landlord in 2009 to bring the properties up to code and Espinosa monitored the effort until 2015, the report says. At the same time, the landlord loaned Espinosa $100,000 and paid him $76,179 for contracting work and consulting services, the report says.
Although inspectors are required to file annual statements listing their economic interests, Espinosa didn’t disclose the contracting work for 2015 and 2016 and never told his superiors about the loan, according to the report. He also never repaid the loan and the landlord has not attempted to recover it, the report adds.
Espinosa also solicited a total of $1,200 from the landlord in return for passing inspections at four of the properties that previously had failed, according to the report.
In addition, the report says, Espinosa was assigned in 2013 to inspect a house on Rifle Lane where he found some code violations. A broker tried to sell the property a few years later, and in 2016 met with Espinosa in front of City Hall and gave him a personal check for $1,500 to resolve the outstanding permit issues, the report says.
That same day, the broker applied for building, electrical and plumbing permits for the property, and Espinosa waived the code violation fees, as well as other requirements, the report notes. Espinosa scheduled himself to inspect the property after that and marked the code violations as “abated” within two minutes of scheduling it, the report says. Espinosa never disclosed that the broker paid him.
Espinosa also received $12,800 from the owner of a house on Valley View Road. The owner bought the property as an investment with the intention of fixing and selling it. After the owner applied for building permits to replace the roof and repair rot — and paid Espinosa $1,900 — Espinosa issued a “stop-work” order.
The report didn’t say what the $1,900 was for, but noted the stop-work order was fictitious and never was recorded with the building department, the report says.
“Respondent used the stop-work order to coerce (the owner) into providing (Espinosa) with more payments,” the report states.
Espinosa also issued a stop-work order against a property on Lawlor Street for code violations involving a conversion of the building’s attic and basement. He passed the inspections a week after the owner agreed to pay him $21,500, the report states.
A similar scenario occurred with a house on Manila Avenue in 2014. Espinosa issued a stop-work order there, but a year later cleared the permits after the owner paid him $66,277 for “real estate services and general contracting work,” the report states.
Espinosa never disclosed that money, nor the fact that he was the president of One Development and Investment Corp., a real estate company owned by the Manila Avenue property owner, the report says. Espinosa received $19,770 from the company in 2015, the report adds.
Espinosa also received money for “consulting services” from a construction company and several businessmen in 2015 that he never disclosed. He also drove a city-owned vehicle to Orinda to conduct personal business, used a city-owned computer and printer to print hundreds of pages of “personal materials” and used a city-owned cell phone to make 587 minutes of personal calls while on vacation, the report says.
Tuesday, June 20, 2017
144 City of Oakland - Mass evictions at Oakland’s Empyrean Towers
Mass evictions at Oakland’s Empyrean Towers
December 2014
http://sfbayview.com/2014/12/mass-evictions-at-oaklands-empyrean-towers/
Oakland – Many of the residents of Empyrean Towers are being bullied and tossed out of their housing with eviction notices served by the management company called Innovistech Realty Co.
The Empyrean Towers, located in downtown Oakland at 344 13th St., used to be known as the Hotel Menlo and was owned by millionaire Tiburon resident Richard Singer. Singer landed in prison a few years ago after getting caught by the FBI in a sting operation for trying to hire an arsonist to burn down the occupied hotel as part of an insurance scam.
In August 2011, Singer was sentenced to 27 months in prison, fined $60,000 and received three years’ probation after his release from prison. It was an employee of Singer named Samuel Manning who worked with the FBI in a sting operation to nail Singer for the arson scam, after Manning faced charges for embezzling the Girl Scouts out of more than $50,000. Manning sought reduced charges against himself in return for helping the feds go after Singer for the arson scam.
Before he went to prison, Singer and the company that used to manage the hotel, known as RMD Services, were also sued by many of the residents because of slum-like conditions at the hotel. Singer has already been released from prison for the arson scam and is back in business buying and selling properties.
Fast forward a few years later, and the Hotel Menlo has allegedly been renovated and renamed the Empyrean Towers, and the owner-managers have been renting out rooms for $79 a night to a variety of people from all walks of life.
Others reside there as permanent month to month residents, and according to tenants facing eviction it is those tenants who are being run out of the building with evictions recently. Twenty or more residents have been facing eviction since a fire occurred in the building last July from a lit cigarette, tenants say.
Many of the residents of Empyrean Towers are being bullied and tossed out of their housing with eviction notices served by the management company called Innovistech Realty Co.
Additionally, according to public records with “corporation wiki,” Richard Singer has partnered with real estate broker Alice Tse to own and manage the building through Empyrean Towers LLC and Innovistech Realty Co.
As a real estate broker, Alice Tse has been buying properties for Singer for a number of years and she called me a few times around the beginning of 2014.
Over the phone Alice Tse stated a few times that she was buying properties for Singer, and that she was very concerned about Singer’s activities. Then on Feb. 21, 2014, I received a strange email from Alice Tse (alicetsesf@gmail.com) that said: “I have a new fraud case committed by Richard Singer who attempted to burn down the Menlo. Please call me at 650-526-2968 – Alice.”
I tried calling a few times but Alice did not respond to my call, and I wondered what happened. Only lately did I learn that she is partners at the Empyrean Towers with Richard Singer.
I received a strange email from Alice Tse (alicetsesf@gmail.com) that said: “I have a new fraud case committed by Richard Singer who attempted to burn down the Menlo. Please call me at 650-526-2968 – Alice.”
Recently evicted tenant Andrea Polega told me that among the problems she faced living there is that the sink in her room did not have a “U pipe,” and she had to keep a bucket under the sink to catch the water every time she used it. She had to pay $210 a week to stay there until management forced her out of her housing.
On Nov. 25, Andrea contacted me and said: “I am a tenant at Empyrean who is being kicked out at this very second after having a money order returned to me that was in their possession for more than 24 hours. They returned it at 11 a.m. telling me to be out by noon.
“This is directly following my physical incapacitation in the form of a ruptured Achilles tendon, which was directly caused by their negligence. I am on crutches in a six-story walkup and cannot go up or down the stairs unassisted, let alone move my belongings this way.
“At 2 p.m. they returned with police. I will be charged with trespassing if I do not leave. I have nowhere to go. I would be more than happy to go on record for any future articles against these bastards or any other media outlets to gain justice.”
On Nov. 26, I was advised by the Eviction Defense Center that they were assisting Andrea, they had extensive interaction with her while she was being evicted, and she is currently safe.
According to tenant Don Fisher: “The male resident manager, named Royce, beat up Andrea’s boyfriend, Donald, because he was sleeping in the lobby waiting for someone to come and get him and his girlfriend. I believe you are aware of the couple that Luis May kicked out, right after refusing to accept their rent payment.”
“Donald went to the hospital and Royce went to jail. If you can assist, I need to know who to contact to get a restraining order or similar relief to get this manager out of the hotel. Many people are now worried about being treated in the same manner.”
“There was blood from the floors to the doors from this, and Royce’s wife or girlfriend made threatening overtures to Maria. Maria asked why Royce simply did not call OPD and I had to intervene,” Don Fisher said.
Management of the Empyrean Towers has declined to reply to my requests for an interview in regards to the violence and evictions involving management at the building.
Additional information reveals how hard it is for the residents of Empyrean Towers. According to Towers website, there is no guarantee that the elevator of the seven-story building is available to the residents. The residents all have to pay in advance online before moving into the building and do not know what they are getting into until they move in.
Management of the Empyrean Towers has declined to reply to my requests for an interview in regards to the violence and evictions involving management at the building.
Tenants Don Fisher and Maria Anast moved into the Empyrean Towers on Dec. 16, 2013, after being hit by hard times in a tough economy. They lost their footing in the world of the middle class in America and moved from San Francisco to Oakland for cheaper housing.
Now they are both on a fixed income, are very poor and receive around $300 a month each from general assistance. They also receive food stamp assistance to help get by. But by the third week of the month, they are both pretty much broke and are getting hungry. “We only get around $4 dollars a day to live on from food stamps and that’s not nearly enough to survive in Oakland,” said Maria.
They live in a small room with a bed, a TV, small refrigerator, microwave and a hot plate. They are lucky to have their own bathroom in comparison to many others who have shared bathrooms in the old seven-story building.
“Life is very hard on us now, and we do not feel safe living in this building. There are drug dealers, crack heads and prostitutes living on the upper floors. The cops are here all the time. The locks are flimsy on our doors, and we keep a baseball bat handy just in case someone breaks our door down to enter our apartment.
“There is no heat. They do not allow the tenants to use the elevator. The building has bed bugs, rats and is loaded with flies and gnats from the garbage piled up at the property. Our toilet does not work, the shower barely drips any water out of it when we try to take a shower, and the building lacks smoke detectors in most of the apartments,” Maria and Don both explained in exasperated tones.
“We have been good tenants since moving in, are quiet, have paid our rent on time, and we were SHOCKED to find an eviction notice posted on our door recently after management refused to accept our rent anymore,” they said.
Don and Maria filed a response as a way to fight against the eviction, and they need to find an attorney. Others facing eviction from the Empyrean Towers have sought assistance at the Eviction Defense Center near 16th and Telegraph Avenue.
Don and Maria said, “Around 20 people or more are facing eviction because management wants to bring in higher income tenants willing to pay $79 a night to stay at this building.”
Don used to be an officer in the Navy and later worked in the tech industry for years. Maria spent many years happily working in the hospitality industry. They are in their 50s, and they raised two kids who became adults, including a son who entered the Navy recently and a daughter who lives in Santa Cruz.
“We don’t know what we will do if we get evicted,” said Maria. “We are thinking about buying a van, but we are too broke to do so. We are also thinking about buying a tent if we lose our housing, but we do not know where people camp out when they are made homeless in Oakland,’’ Maria said.
Don and Maria said, “Around 20 people or more are facing eviction because management wants to bring in higher income tenants willing to pay $79 a night to stay at this building.”
The Eviction Defense Center is representing at least five residents from various units facing eviction at the Empyrean Towers, in addition to Don and Maria. Attorney Andrew Wolff will assist in defending the tenants.
Management at Empyrean Towers did not respond to my request for information about the evictions. The phone number for Innovistech Realty Co. reached the Sweden Hotel in San Francisco, and the staff there claim that Alice Tse sold the property.
Patricia Singer, Richard Singer’s wife, stated that she is divorced from Richard and does not want to comment on his activities regarding Empyrean Towers. She also declined to pass on his phone number.
Eviction attorney Johanna Kwasniewski stated that she had no comment regarding my many questions about 20 tenants or more allegedly facing eviction by Richard Singer and Alice Tse. Then she reconsidered and said that she would contact Empyrean Towers LLC to see if she were allowed to make any comments. I have not heard from her since that discussion days ago.
December 2014
http://sfbayview.com/2014/12/mass-evictions-at-oaklands-empyrean-towers/
Oakland – Many of the residents of Empyrean Towers are being bullied and tossed out of their housing with eviction notices served by the management company called Innovistech Realty Co.
The Empyrean Towers, located in downtown Oakland at 344 13th St., used to be known as the Hotel Menlo and was owned by millionaire Tiburon resident Richard Singer. Singer landed in prison a few years ago after getting caught by the FBI in a sting operation for trying to hire an arsonist to burn down the occupied hotel as part of an insurance scam.
In August 2011, Singer was sentenced to 27 months in prison, fined $60,000 and received three years’ probation after his release from prison. It was an employee of Singer named Samuel Manning who worked with the FBI in a sting operation to nail Singer for the arson scam, after Manning faced charges for embezzling the Girl Scouts out of more than $50,000. Manning sought reduced charges against himself in return for helping the feds go after Singer for the arson scam.
Before he went to prison, Singer and the company that used to manage the hotel, known as RMD Services, were also sued by many of the residents because of slum-like conditions at the hotel. Singer has already been released from prison for the arson scam and is back in business buying and selling properties.
Fast forward a few years later, and the Hotel Menlo has allegedly been renovated and renamed the Empyrean Towers, and the owner-managers have been renting out rooms for $79 a night to a variety of people from all walks of life.
Others reside there as permanent month to month residents, and according to tenants facing eviction it is those tenants who are being run out of the building with evictions recently. Twenty or more residents have been facing eviction since a fire occurred in the building last July from a lit cigarette, tenants say.
Many of the residents of Empyrean Towers are being bullied and tossed out of their housing with eviction notices served by the management company called Innovistech Realty Co.
Additionally, according to public records with “corporation wiki,” Richard Singer has partnered with real estate broker Alice Tse to own and manage the building through Empyrean Towers LLC and Innovistech Realty Co.
As a real estate broker, Alice Tse has been buying properties for Singer for a number of years and she called me a few times around the beginning of 2014.
Over the phone Alice Tse stated a few times that she was buying properties for Singer, and that she was very concerned about Singer’s activities. Then on Feb. 21, 2014, I received a strange email from Alice Tse (alicetsesf@gmail.com) that said: “I have a new fraud case committed by Richard Singer who attempted to burn down the Menlo. Please call me at 650-526-2968 – Alice.”
I tried calling a few times but Alice did not respond to my call, and I wondered what happened. Only lately did I learn that she is partners at the Empyrean Towers with Richard Singer.
I received a strange email from Alice Tse (alicetsesf@gmail.com) that said: “I have a new fraud case committed by Richard Singer who attempted to burn down the Menlo. Please call me at 650-526-2968 – Alice.”
Recently evicted tenant Andrea Polega told me that among the problems she faced living there is that the sink in her room did not have a “U pipe,” and she had to keep a bucket under the sink to catch the water every time she used it. She had to pay $210 a week to stay there until management forced her out of her housing.
On Nov. 25, Andrea contacted me and said: “I am a tenant at Empyrean who is being kicked out at this very second after having a money order returned to me that was in their possession for more than 24 hours. They returned it at 11 a.m. telling me to be out by noon.
“This is directly following my physical incapacitation in the form of a ruptured Achilles tendon, which was directly caused by their negligence. I am on crutches in a six-story walkup and cannot go up or down the stairs unassisted, let alone move my belongings this way.
“At 2 p.m. they returned with police. I will be charged with trespassing if I do not leave. I have nowhere to go. I would be more than happy to go on record for any future articles against these bastards or any other media outlets to gain justice.”
On Nov. 26, I was advised by the Eviction Defense Center that they were assisting Andrea, they had extensive interaction with her while she was being evicted, and she is currently safe.
According to tenant Don Fisher: “The male resident manager, named Royce, beat up Andrea’s boyfriend, Donald, because he was sleeping in the lobby waiting for someone to come and get him and his girlfriend. I believe you are aware of the couple that Luis May kicked out, right after refusing to accept their rent payment.”
“Donald went to the hospital and Royce went to jail. If you can assist, I need to know who to contact to get a restraining order or similar relief to get this manager out of the hotel. Many people are now worried about being treated in the same manner.”
“There was blood from the floors to the doors from this, and Royce’s wife or girlfriend made threatening overtures to Maria. Maria asked why Royce simply did not call OPD and I had to intervene,” Don Fisher said.
Management of the Empyrean Towers has declined to reply to my requests for an interview in regards to the violence and evictions involving management at the building.
Additional information reveals how hard it is for the residents of Empyrean Towers. According to Towers website, there is no guarantee that the elevator of the seven-story building is available to the residents. The residents all have to pay in advance online before moving into the building and do not know what they are getting into until they move in.
Management of the Empyrean Towers has declined to reply to my requests for an interview in regards to the violence and evictions involving management at the building.
Tenants Don Fisher and Maria Anast moved into the Empyrean Towers on Dec. 16, 2013, after being hit by hard times in a tough economy. They lost their footing in the world of the middle class in America and moved from San Francisco to Oakland for cheaper housing.
Now they are both on a fixed income, are very poor and receive around $300 a month each from general assistance. They also receive food stamp assistance to help get by. But by the third week of the month, they are both pretty much broke and are getting hungry. “We only get around $4 dollars a day to live on from food stamps and that’s not nearly enough to survive in Oakland,” said Maria.
They live in a small room with a bed, a TV, small refrigerator, microwave and a hot plate. They are lucky to have their own bathroom in comparison to many others who have shared bathrooms in the old seven-story building.
“Life is very hard on us now, and we do not feel safe living in this building. There are drug dealers, crack heads and prostitutes living on the upper floors. The cops are here all the time. The locks are flimsy on our doors, and we keep a baseball bat handy just in case someone breaks our door down to enter our apartment.
“There is no heat. They do not allow the tenants to use the elevator. The building has bed bugs, rats and is loaded with flies and gnats from the garbage piled up at the property. Our toilet does not work, the shower barely drips any water out of it when we try to take a shower, and the building lacks smoke detectors in most of the apartments,” Maria and Don both explained in exasperated tones.
“We have been good tenants since moving in, are quiet, have paid our rent on time, and we were SHOCKED to find an eviction notice posted on our door recently after management refused to accept our rent anymore,” they said.
Don and Maria filed a response as a way to fight against the eviction, and they need to find an attorney. Others facing eviction from the Empyrean Towers have sought assistance at the Eviction Defense Center near 16th and Telegraph Avenue.
Don and Maria said, “Around 20 people or more are facing eviction because management wants to bring in higher income tenants willing to pay $79 a night to stay at this building.”
Don used to be an officer in the Navy and later worked in the tech industry for years. Maria spent many years happily working in the hospitality industry. They are in their 50s, and they raised two kids who became adults, including a son who entered the Navy recently and a daughter who lives in Santa Cruz.
“We don’t know what we will do if we get evicted,” said Maria. “We are thinking about buying a van, but we are too broke to do so. We are also thinking about buying a tent if we lose our housing, but we do not know where people camp out when they are made homeless in Oakland,’’ Maria said.
Don and Maria said, “Around 20 people or more are facing eviction because management wants to bring in higher income tenants willing to pay $79 a night to stay at this building.”
The Eviction Defense Center is representing at least five residents from various units facing eviction at the Empyrean Towers, in addition to Don and Maria. Attorney Andrew Wolff will assist in defending the tenants.
Management at Empyrean Towers did not respond to my request for information about the evictions. The phone number for Innovistech Realty Co. reached the Sweden Hotel in San Francisco, and the staff there claim that Alice Tse sold the property.
Patricia Singer, Richard Singer’s wife, stated that she is divorced from Richard and does not want to comment on his activities regarding Empyrean Towers. She also declined to pass on his phone number.
Eviction attorney Johanna Kwasniewski stated that she had no comment regarding my many questions about 20 tenants or more allegedly facing eviction by Richard Singer and Alice Tse. Then she reconsidered and said that she would contact Empyrean Towers LLC to see if she were allowed to make any comments. I have not heard from her since that discussion days ago.
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