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| Henry Potter - Evil Banker |
Judging from the article in the Los Angeles Times, Trutanich says the bank foreclosed on the properties and then effectively became a slumlord. What are the signs of that? Well, the houses are run down, there's graffiti, there's prostitution, squatters, gang members and other criminals.
And we're supposed to believe that's the BANK's fault? Are you kidding me?
As for the condition of the homes, does anyone really believe they were properly maintained BEFORE the bank foreclosed? Take a look at the picture in the article. This stuff does not happen overnight. We're talking at least a decade of deferred maintenance.
And, more importantly, as for graffiti, prostitution, squatters, gang members and other criminals, remind me: Whose job is it to fight those ills? Is it the bank's job? Or is it THE CITY ATTORNEY'S JOB?
Trutanich, in his bid to run for District Attorney, is trying to gin up publicity and distract attention from his and the City's failure to enforce our laws. Blame the deep pocket. No one's going to feel sympathy for a German bank, right?
Does Trutanich care about run-down neighborhoods, graffiti, etc.? Judging from his prior actions, no. Remember the people in Venice who dumped poop out of their RV along the street? Trutanich and his office did nothing until local radio talk show hosts made a fuss over it. And even then, the punishment was trivial: two days in jail after dumping their number two not once, but twice.
Oh, and is anyone mentioning the law the geniuses in the City of Los Angeles passed that requires a bank to PAY tenants thousands of dollars to vacate a house after foreclosure? I'm sure the bank would prefer to evict the people and try to re-sell the houses. But the City has, in effect, forced banks to pay extra merely to exercise the property rights they would otherwise have.
Well, this is another warning to businesses thinking of investing in or moving to Los Angeles: STAY OUT. You can't win here unless you happen to have contributed to the career politicians, in which case they'll give you subsidies and immunity.
The City Attorney's Office is supposed to enforce the law and promote the public interest, not function as a profit-center by filing dubious "shake-down" lawsuits against deep pockets merely because they are deep pockets.
Deferred maintenance:
ReplyDeleteGREAT morning laugh-out-loud! I'll have to remember that the next time I leave the dinner dishes for the morning or defer the laundry for six months.
I'd forgotten how funny that real estate agent euphemism is. It's so much nicer to refer to "deferred maintenance" than, say, "wanton neglect" or "irresponsible failure to maintain."
ReplyDeleteDear fellow voters, my mayor and Chief of Police Charlie Beck a few days ago instructed me to "say something," if "I see something." Well I'm saying something:
ReplyDeleteIs this lawsuit a convenient form of selective enforcement, prior to his run for District Attorney, or was there a deal made with city council or the Housing Department? There's millions of Housing dollars earmarked for purchasing foreclosed homes. I'm already disappointed with "Nuch" for not prosecuting the protesters who plastered themselves on Wilshire Bl. And, yeah, I campaigned hard for him for city attorney.
He seems to be following the Modus of Operandi of mayoral candidate Wendy Greuel. She gives multiple press conferences exposing inefficiencies of various City departments or programs but doesn't seem to expose why an inefficiency occurred, or if anyone was fired as a result of her findings. Especially when millions of dollars were involved. There seems to be no follow-through. The multi-million dollar black market street vendors continue to conduct business as usual with no fear of law enforcement. Does she nor the mayor's business development department care that the legitimate business person is paying sky-rocketing taxes and fees while competing with these illegal street vendors?
I continue to be skeptical. Why is C.A. "Nuch" selecting these particular homes? And why now? He says they are a danger to residents, cause blighted conditions, and attract crime to the community? If the mayor's "anti-gang" program were abolished, we could hire more police to address these crimes.
Citing and suing only homes owned by Deutsche Bank is selective enforcement. "Selective enforcement," it's the usual M.O. of City Hall.
Equal opportunity should prevail here: cite and sue all structures which are a blight to anyone's neighborhood, including City property. Do you have an eyesore in your neighborhood? Call 311 and report it.
Heck, include all structures public and private. Lets start with the simple stuff: graffiti, illegal street vendors, dumpster divers, unapproved signange on utility poles. For starters, they can start with the Los Angeles Municipal Code chapter 4, article 14, section 49.84.1 as adopted by city council. Unleash code enforcement officers to go after the low risk crime. They have the manpower, they're educated, trained, and certified to go after these crimes.
So don't blame the bank Mr "Nuch." Your clients, the city council and mayor contributed to this mess with its sky-high taxes and fees. Sue them for ignoring the LAMC.