CHATSWORTH : Landlord Fined for Slum Conditions
A judge ordered a Chatsworth man to pay more than $13,000 in fines Friday stemming from his conviction on charges of permitting slum conditions at a Hollywood apartment house he owns.
Municipal Judge Veronica Simmons McBeth also sentenced Bernard Gross, 48, to three years summary probation and imposed a June 21 deadline for Gross to repair the slum conditions or face more penalties, according to the city attorney’s office.
A June 29 compliance hearing has been scheduled.
Gross was convicted earlier this month of 36 violations of fire, health and building safety codes at his apartment complex in the 5400 block of Virginia Avenue, including cockroach and rat infestation and exposed live electrical wiring.
McBeth also found Gross in violation of his probation from his conviction in a fraud foreclosure case last year, a city attorney spokesman said. Gross was convicted of charges stemming from an incident involving a Huntington Park woman he persuaded to sign over the deed to her house.
Gross was sentenced to 300 hours of community service and given credit for 77 days of jail he had already served.
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