Buildings Sold by L.A. Slumlord Get New Owners Into Trouble

A Rolling Hills couple who bought a pair of apartment buildings from convicted slumlord Milton Avol last summer were themselves charged Thursday with 43 misdemeanor violations of city health, building and safety codes.

Hyoung and Sook Pak, who paid a reported $2.2 million for the buildings that cover a square block at 1821 and 1839 Main St., were aware of a “laundry list of problems” existing at the properties but made virtually no improvements since taking them over last August, said Stephanie Sautner, the supervising lawyer in the Los Angeles city attorney’s housing enforcement section.

Sautner said the buildings, which have a total of 130 units, are infested with rodents and cockroaches and have insufficient hot water and faulty fire extinguishers and fire doors.

Moreover, she said, the paint is cracked and peeling throughout both buildings, floors have water damage, ripped linoleum and holes, and there are plumbing and electrical problems. Some units have broken windows and are without heat, Sautner said.

The Paks could not be reached for comment.

At the time of the purchase, however, they promised to improve conditions for their tenants. In fact, as part of the purchase agreement, attorneys representing the hundreds of tenants in the buildings won a court order that said much of the profits from the sale were to be used to make extensive building repairs.

“But these things take time,” said attorney Barbara Hadsell, who represented many of the tenants in civil litigation against Avol. “Unfortunately, what has happened is that the Paks sat back on their heels and . . . expected Avol to make all the repairs. They felt it meant they had to do nothing, and that was not the case. . . . And the tenants suffer, and they keep paying the rents.”

Neurosurgeon Avol, who was ordered by a Superior Court judge in June, 1985, to live in a third building he owned at 463 S. Bixel St., was sentenced the following year to nine months in County Jail. A hearing on his appeal of the sentence is scheduled March 26 in Los Angeles Superior Court. In the meantime, he is free.

The Paks are scheduled to be arraigned on the charges against them that same day in Los Angeles Municipal Court. A conviction on each violation carries a maximum $1,000 fine or six months in jail.

“They were aware of the problems,” Sautner said. “But according to my inspectors, there has been no progress. These buildings have a long way to go.”