Slumlord Is a No-Show for Jail Term

A former honorary mayor of Wilmington--whom authorities once described as one of Los Angeles’ worst slumlords--has failed to surrender to serve his 30-day jail sentence, and a Los Angeles Municipal Court commissioner has issued a warrant for his arrest.

Victor Corpuz, 76, was scheduled to appear in court Tuesday morning to begin serving the sentence, which was imposed on him more than a year and a half ago for slum conditions at a duplex he owns at 1446-1448 N. Wilmington Blvd.

When Corpuz did not show up, Commissioner Barry Kohn issued a $100,000 warrant for his arrest, meaning that if he is caught, he will be required to post that much in bail pending an appearance in court.

Deputy City Atty. Abraham Khan argued that Corpuz should be held without bail if he is arrested. In an interview, he said the failure to appear shows that a jail sentence is appropriate punishment for Corpuz, who was placed on probation in another case.

‘Not Responsible’

“I think it reinforces our argument that he’s not responsible, that any attempt at trying to rehabilitate him through probation alone is pointless,” Khan said.

Corpuz’s lawyer, Charles Downing, said in an interview that he did not know his client’s whereabouts Tuesday and had not spoken to him “in a long time.”

A woman who identified herself as Jube Corpuz, Victor’s wife, said in a telephone interview from the Corpuz residence in Wilmington on Wednesday that her husband has been in the Philippines since December and cannot be reached.

The woman said she did not know that Corpuz was scheduled to be in court, although she did say she was aware that her son, Samuel, 48, was to appear.

Samuel Corpuz of Redondo Beach, who was convicted and sentenced along with his father, did show up Tuesday to begin serving a 60-day jail term for slum conditions at three Wilmington properties he owns.

The younger Corpuz asked Kohn for a stay of his sentence to get his personal affairs in order, and Kohn ordered him to surrender again Aug. 2.

The father-and-son landlords were convicted in 1986 on charges stemming from a total of 60 violations at their four properties. In a press statement issued Tuesday, Los Angeles City Atty. James K. Hahn said the violations included rats, cockroaches, broken windows, broken guard rails and general dilapidation.

The Corpuzes appealed the convictions, but the Los Angeles Superior Court Appellate Department turned down the appeal in May and ordered the men to serve their jail terms.

Khan, the deputy city attorney, said inspections are continuing at the duplex owned by the elder Corpuz and the three properties owned by his son: a three-unit building at 1450-1452 N. Wilmington Blvd.; a four-unit complex at 936-942 Island Ave., and another four-unit building at 1011-1013 1/2 Island Ave.

Khan said that while the violations have not been completely corrected, “we have seen progress. . . . Work has been done, and certainly the buildings are in much better condition because we filed these cases.”

Earlier Inquiry

Victor and Samuel Corpuz, as well as other members of the Corpuz family, have been targets of city housing investigations since 1982. That year, Victor Corpuz, along with his daughter and son-in-law, Rosita and Ruben Gutierrez, were found guilty of 10 misdemeanor counts stemming from slum conditions at Wilmington property they jointly owned.

Victor Corpuz was fined $5,000 and sentenced to six months in jail. At the time it was the stiffest sentence imposed in a city slumlord case, according to Hahn. However, Corpuz appealed that conviction, and it was overturned by a higher court, which ruled that the judge had not adequately warned Corpuz about the dangers he faced by representing himself during the trial.

Corpuz eventually pleaded guilty to the 10 counts and paid $8,500 in fines and penalties.

In 1978, Corpuz served as honorary mayor of Wilmington, a ceremonial title given each year to the person who raises the most money for a local charity. In a 1986 interview, he defended himself against assertions by the city attorney’s office that he was among the worst slumlords in Los Angeles.

Corpuz claimed that officials were prejudiced against him and his family because they are Filipino. They were “picking on us,” he said.

“My apartments are not the best, but they are fairly good,” Corpuz said then. “I am not a slumlord.”