Judge Adds 6 Months to Slumlord’s Probation

A Los Angeles municipal judge ruled Wednesday that convicted slumlord Neil H. Bleuler had failed to meet the terms of his probation by either repairing code violations at four of his residential buildings or selling them in a timely fashion.

As a result, Judge Maureen Duffy-Lewis extended Bleuler’s probation for six months--to January, 1991--and said she will send him to jail if he fails to fulfill a long list of conditions with regard to all 28 properties he is believed to own in Los Angeles.

“Basically, it’s the tightest leash we’ve ever had on a slumlord,” said Deputy City Atty. Stephanie Sautner, who had sought a jail term for Bleuler, 41.

From now on, the judge said, Bleuler will not be allowed to transfer property without 30 days’ notice to the city attorney’s office and the court and will not be permitted to own property as a corporate shareholder.

Sautner said the restrictions were designed to prevent the landlord from creating “sham” purchasers.

Last year, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Los Angeles found that Bleuler had created a Nevada-based corporation and transferred 16 of his properties to it solely “to shelter Neil Bleuler from additional criminal charges,” court documents show. The corporation declared bankruptcy five days later.

At Wednesday’s hearing, Duffy-Lewis also ordered Bleuler to notify authorities if he is more than 60 days’ delinquent in making a mortgage payment.

Last July, Bleuler was convicted of 85 violations of various fire, health and building and safety codes at four buildings. Three are apartment buildings at 823 S. Bonnie Brae St. and 426 S. Union Ave. in the Pico-Union District and 807 Fedora St. in Koreatown. The fourth is a 25-room hotel at 2616 Idell St., Cypress Park.

The violations included vermin infestations, broken windows, leaky roofs, missing and defective guardrails on stairwells and defective fire escapes and fire doors.

He was sentenced to 30 days in jail, but the sentence was stayed pending an appeal. Bleuler was ordered to correct the violations by Oct. 13 or sell the buildings.

At a hearing Dec. 22, Bleuler acknowledged that he had not repaired the violations, Sautner said, adding that the four properties were eventually sold under foreclosure.

Bleuler was ordered to return to court Feb. 10 to show that he brought his remaining buildings into compliance.