Corruption, foreclosure, a dead dog and a skeleton

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This one comes from Chicago -- a long way from L.A. Land -- but it is one of those stories you can’t make up. It’s too bizarre.

Here’s the headline from the Chicago Tribune: ‘How fraud led to this property changing hands 3 times as son of owner sat dead inside.’

‘The new buyers of a rundown graystone on the South Side showed up Jan. 9 to look at the house they won at a foreclosure auction. They took the plywood off the front door and went inside to make sure the utilities had been shut off. Then they called the police.

‘Sitting upright in the corner of a bedroom off the kitchen was a human skeleton in a red tracksuit. Next to him lay a dead dog. Neighbors told police the corpse was almost certainly Randy Johnson, a middle-age man who lived alone in the North Kenwood house.

‘The cause of Johnson’s death has not yet been determined, but it is just one of the mysteries about 4578 S. Oakenwald Ave. Somehow, Johnson’s house was transferred three times to new owners without anyone noticing he was inside. It’s a story involving forged deeds, a corrupt title company and a South Side family that has been under investigation for mortgage fraud.’

Wild, wild stuff.

Hat tip: pseudo100, via e-mail
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