Run-Down Building’s Ex-Owners Charged

In an unusual move, the city filed criminal misdemeanor charges Wednesday against the former owners of Town and Country Apartments, alleging violations of housing codes.

The charges, filed in Municipal Court, list 100 counts against Harvey and Hedda Berger. The city alleges that the Bergers allowed the 60-unit complex to deteriorate to the point that it is nearly uninhabitable.

Code inspectors found roach and vermin infestation, plumbing leaks, roof damage, peeling paint and other dilapidated conditions, city officials said.

The Bergers said Wednesday that they could not comment until they had seen the filing.

Though the Bergers lost ownership of the complex in January, officials said, their neglect was so egregious that the city decided not to drop the matter.

“Normally, our whole goal with this type of housing code violation is just to get compliance,” Assistant City Atty. David A. De Berry said.

“Obviously, the Bergers are not now in a position to remedy the situation,” he said. “But we believe their action in not maintaining the property should not go unpunished. . . .”

In June, 48 of the tenants who had filed lawsuits in small-claims court were awarded damages totaling $45,000. The Bergers have appealed some of those awards.

De Berry said the Bergers will be arraigned on Oct. 9. The city has yet to decide whether to seek fines or jail time or both, he said.

Some of the tenants in the building have been waging a rent strike since last October, making their monthly payments to a trust account held by the nonprofit Fair Housing Council of Orange County.

In January, Bank of America appointed a receiver to run the apartments and begin repairs, said John Kendrick Jr., an attorney representing the trusts that own the land beneath the building.

Dissatisfied, the trustees for the Robert E. and Evelyn Holmes Trust and the Kathleen H. Thompson Trust took direct control of the property this week.

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Complaint Filed

Former owners of building face misdemeanor charges.