Slumlord Begins Serving 4-Month Jail Sentence
A Beverly Hills man began serving a four-month jail sentence Friday over slum conditions at his Westlake district hotel.
Aaron G. Kempe was taken into custody in the Los Angeles courtroom of Judge John Loomis after losing an appeal of a 1989 conviction for failing to make repairs at the Stratford Hotel.
As part of his sentence, Kempe, 64, must also pay $100,000 to five agencies serving the homeless: Midnight Mission, Downtown Women’s Center, Los Angeles Mission, Fred Jordan Mission and Para Los Ninos.
In 1989, Kempe served a 45-day sentence under house arrest at the hotel. City Atty. James K. Hahn said Kempe is under court order to sell the 93-room hotel at 2620 W. 8th St. “By his attitude and total disregard for the safety and welfare of his tenants, he has forfeited the right to be the landlord,” Hahn said.
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