Potential penalties faced in harassment case uncertain
MID CITY — Prosecutors this week filed a complaint against three local men who are accused of working collaboratively in an “outrageous” attempt to frighten a disabled woman into moving out of her rent-controlled Santa Monica apartment.
L.T. Belton, Marshall Burnett and Dan Kolodziejski face penalties for allegedly harassing Susan White, who has rented her apartment at 2710 Arizona Ave. for 23 years.
White pays $422 a month for her one-bedroom apartment. Hers was the only occupied unit when Burnett bought the building in January. Prosecutors allege Burnett and Kolodziejski, both realtors, hired Belton to live in the building as a manager for the sole purpose of intimidating White into moving.
“This is one of the most outrageous cases we’ve ever seen,” said Deputy City Attorney Adam Radinsky, who added Belton allegedly threatened to burn down White’s apartment, repeatedly insulted her, abused her cats and flooded her kitchen. “It shows the incredible lengths some people will go to for the sake of a quick dollar.
“The owner and his partner installed a so-called manager... for the purpose of harassing her and scaring her into leaving,” Radinsky added.
While most of City Hall’s claims name only Belton, prosecutors allege he acted as an agent for Kolodziejski and Burnett. The realtors also are accused of not responding to White’s complaints of harassment and not making requested repairs.
Burnett, who bought the four-unit building for $840,000, said Belton was merely a tenant in the building and denied any claims of harassment. Kolodziejski, who works with Burnett, was unavailable for comment, as was Belton.
Burnett characterized the situation as a tenant dispute and added that White had her run of the place until Belton moved into the building in January.
“I try not to be a social referee,” said Burnett, 39, of Ocean Park. “It’s like a ‘He said, she said’ — and I feel like I’m caught in the middle of it.”
Burnett went on to say that he was in the process of making the repairs White requested, but that he was hamstrung by delays in City Hall.
“It’s quite a complicated story,” Burnett added. “I’m very kind of curious as to what the city — what their agenda is... I’ve lived in Santa Monica my whole life. I understand rent control laws. I understand you inherit some of these tenants. It’s foolish to battle with them because the city will always take the tenant’s side.”
The amount of money in fines the three men could face is unclear.
“The acts go into the hundreds, in terms of individual acts of harassment, and it will be up to the court to determine how they are counted,” Radinsky said, adding the three men will be pursued for emotional and medical damages, as well as punitive damages, which are based on the defendants’ net worth and level of malice. Each violation of City Hall’s tenant harassment ordinance, a misdemeanor, is punishable by $1,000.
White was not at home Thursday afternoon. The other three units in the freshly painted building seemed vacant, though it appeared as though workmen had done repairs in them recently. Burnett said Belton, who rented his unit on a month-to-month basis, hadn’t told him he intended to vacate the unit and added that he hadn’t been by the building in several days.
City Hall’s suit alleges the men wanted White to move out so they could rent her unit at market rate or sell the building for a greater profit.
Burnett said he had originally intended to rent out the units, but that he wasn’t sure he would still do that. Asked if he was fixing up the building in order to put it back on the market, he said, “I’m not a developer. When I buy a property, I typically try to make it more presentable, more amenable. Good tenant housing in Santa Monica is hard to find these days, because of rent control. I’m curious what Susan’s grievances are.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on May 21, 2004. Read the original PDF.