2 Boarding Home Operators Facing Criminal Charges

The operators of two Canoga Park board-and-care homes were arrested Tuesday after being charged with criminal health and safety violations at the facilities.

Linda Marchesini, 43, and her husband, Maurice, 56, of Woodland Hills, were arrested at an unlicensed board-and-care home they were allegedly operating at 24330 Welby Way, City Atty. James K. Hahn said. The couple also operates a licensed board-and-care home at 24146 Mobile St.

They are accused of 22 violations of state law, including 9 counts of endangering the health of a dependent adult, 1 count of operating an unlicensed board-and-care facility and 12 health and safety code violations. Each violation is punishable by up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Insufficient Staffing

Hahn, whose office filed charges against the Marchesinis on Monday in Los Angeles Municipal Court, said, “In this case, we found fire-safety hazards as well as problems in evaluating the medical needs of residents, being prepared for emergency situations and having enough trained staff on hand to care for and supervise residents.”

“Residents, many of whom were non-ambulatory, were locked inside the houses by devices--a hook at one location and a dead-bolt at the other--which had been installed at the tops of doors where they could not reach,” Hahn said. The locks would have made it difficult for residents to escape in case of a fire, said Deputy City Atty. Katharine MacKenzie, who is prosecuting the case.

A fire inspector who visited the Welby Way facility found that half the smoke detectors and the only fire extinguisher were inoperable, MacKenzie said. The operators also were accused of not having the required number of trained staff and not having residents’ medical histories.

Hahn said that conditions at the Welby Way facility led the state Department of Social Services in early January to turn down Linda Marchesini’s application for a board-and-care license for the location.

“One reason cited by the department was that the house did not meet state fire-safety regulations for board-and-care facilities,” Hahn said in a statement issued by his office.

In late January, the department also rejected Marchesini’s application for a license renewal for the Mobile Street facility due to problems they found there and because “she was continuing to operate the unlicensed home on Welby Way despite department orders to close it down,” Hahn said.

The Marchesinis have been allowed to continue to operate the Mobile Street facility while they appeal the decision not to renew the license, MacKenzie said. She said she did not know why it took the department, which knew about the home on Welby Way since January, so long to ask the city attorney to file charges.

MacKenzie said that county welfare officials are caring for the five residents found at the unlicensed facility. The other facility, which continues to be operated, has four residents, she said. The Marchesinis were released on $5,000 bail each.