landlord piles up violations while tenants pay the price
MILWAUKEE (WITI) He is one of Milwaukee most prominent inner city landlords. And a FOX6 investigation finds the system that supposed to hold him accountable is falling short. Our invepatagonia better sweater pulloverstigation findpatagonia better sweater women navys the king of this rental empire is both elusive and abusive. And some of the city poorest residents are paying the price.
Many of the people who rent homes or apartments from Elijah Mohammad Rashaed have never met their landlord. And when they find their homes infested with bed bugs or in desperate need of repairs, some say it virtually impossible to get their security deposits back. Even when a judge orders him to pay.
Or simply Elijahpatagonia men's better sweater quarter zip pullover Rashaed. Elijah Mohammad. Mohammad Ross. Mohammed Rashada. Mohammad with an Mohammed with an and, according to a criminal complaint for soliciting a prostitute in 2011, he is formerly known as Dennis Bell.
He owns or operates an array of Limited Liability Companies or LLCs under names like First Property Development, Second Property Development, Third Property Development, Fourth Property Development, M Properties, Atlas of America, Matric Rental, and many more.
playing a shellpatagonia fly fishing waders review game and getting money and not doing anything, said Darneisha Pilcher, a former tenant.
Rashaed and his companies own more than 200 rental properties in Milwaukee. Many of them what city officials call distressed real estate. And our investigation finds those buildings have tallied more than 10,000 code violations since 2009. As of last month, more than a thousand of the violations were listed as meaning they still not fixed.
wants to stay somewhere 600 dollars with roaches, bed bugs, leaking ceilings, mold, your houpatagonia newse smellin like sewer, Pilcher said.
ceilingpatagonia ventura shops were caving in, said Felicia Reed, another former tenant.
water, the plaster from the ceiling, everything just fell in on us, said yet another former tenant, Melena Torrence.
Last fall, a balcony copatagonia fiona parka review3llapsed on one of Rashaed buildings and a man fell four stories.
And in May, FOX6 News found mushrooms literally growing in the hallways of another building.
Building inspectors know Rashaepatagonia fiona parka review1d well. Seven years ago, he was convicted for punching an inspector in the face.
In May, FOX 6 News and city inspectors found mushroopatagonia outlet store 629ms growing in a common area hallway in one of Rashaed properties.
been clear with him that he never to lay a hand on any of my employees, said Art Dahlberg, Commissioner of Neighborhood Services.
Dahlberg said Rashaed attack prompted a change in state law that made assaulting a code enforcement official its very own crime. And for years, he been on the city so called Enforcement list. That a select group of landloards with so many violations, they assigned their own inspector.
start sopatagonia discount code yooxrting through those violations and figuring out which ones apatagonia express discountre critical to get fixed first, Dahlberg said.
While the most serious violations have made Rashaed a familiar name on the news, he rarely gives interviews.
we portrayed as horrible landlords and that not the case, Raspatagonia fiona parka review2haed said in one of those rare interviews last month, after one of his buildings had been suddenly deemed uninhabitable.
During the interview, he hugged a displaced tenant.
find her a place, you know what I sayin Rashaed spatagonia fiona parka reviewaid.
Christine Donahoe, Legal Action of Wisconsin
When tenants try to get their securitypatagonia fiona parka review0 deposits back, Attorney Christine Donahoe says it a much different story.
is taking advantage of clients to whom 500 dollars is a huge amount of money, Donahoe said.
Donahoe is an attorney for Legal Action of Wisconsin and provides free legal services to low income people like Dorothy Warne, who moved into an apartment and discovered she had, well, unwanted roommates.
seen all the bed bugs coming out the walls and out the wood work, Warne said.
spent one night in the property and had to move and she was already out a thousand dollars, over a thousand dollars, Donahoe said.
Warne sued. Rashaed failed to show. And a judge granted a judgment in Warne favor. But instead of paying her what he owed Rashead tried to reopen the case.
