Slumlord Faces New Charges : Housing: Milton Avol, convicted in L.A., is cited by county for squalid conditions at 32 rentals in Antelope Valley.

The first slumlord in Los Angeles sentenced to live in one of his own run-down buildings is facing a new round of accusations that property he owns in the Antelope Valley is riddled with slum-like conditions.

Los Angeles County health officials say that since November they have cited Milton Avol, a 68-year-old Beverly Hills neurosurgeon, for violations involving unsanitary conditions in at least 32 of 72 houses he owns in a small unincorporated county area within Palmdale.

After health inspectors surveyed the area Thursday and found evidence of sewage problems, roach and rodent infestation and broken windows, they said Avol could face criminal charges if he does not clean up the area.

“We’re not going to let this drop,” said Sam Bellomo, an environmental health official in the county Department of Health Services. “If compliance is not obtained, the matter will be referred to the district attorney.”

Bellomo said the department has issued four notices of violations covering 32 houses. The violations include faulty septic tank systems, accumulated trash and debris, illegal garage conversions and dangerous electrical wiring, he said. If conditions are not corrected, the case can be sent to the district attorney for prosecution.

Avol’s problems pose a high-profile challenge to Los Angeles County prosecutors and enforcement officials, who some think are not vigorous in their pursuit of slumlords.

“Apparently, there’s no training for them in these cases, so they’re struggling with it out there,” Deputy City Atty. Stephanie Sautner, Los Angeles’ top slumlord prosecutor, said of the county’s attorneys.

Some tenants, meanwhile, are considering a civil lawsuit against Avol. Residents, many on welfare, complain that Avol and his managers have repeatedly promised to repair the houses but have done little work.

“He’s doing exactly the same thing here as in L.A.,” said Glenda Heiserman, a Lancaster attorney representing several tenants. “He hasn’t learned.”

Avol served two widely publicized jail terms in 1987 and 1988 for slumlord convictions in Los Angeles. Authorities said he was the first in the city, and perhaps the first in the nation, to be sentenced to live in one of his own buildings.

In a telephone interview Thursday, Avol insisted that he has been trying to maintain the Antelope Valley buildings, which are 800-square-foot, two-bedroom houses that rent for up to $500 a month. Health officials said he promised them Friday to correct some of the more severe problems by early this week.

“I fully intend to keep the place up as much as possible,” Avol said Thursday.

Avol said tenants facing eviction have damaged the houses. He also faulted two couples who had been his managers in the past year until they were charged with stealing thousands of dollars in rent money.

Sautner, who once dubbed Avol “the most recalcitrant slumlord in Los Angeles,” now heads a multi-agency task force including city attorneys and county health inspectors who focus on slumlords.

But the task force only operates inside the city of Los Angeles. Elsewhere, such responsibilities fall to county inspectors and prosecuting attorneys who rarely have handled major slumlord cases. And Sautner said that is not because the county has no problems.

Residents of Avol’s houses said their homes are infested with mice, cockroaches and other vermin. Some complained of skin sores that they believe are caused by mites. Others told of gas heaters so filthy that they give off little heat but emit fumes that make residents ill.

Several tenants said that when they moved in last year they found piles of trash, missing electrical and plumbing fixtures, and broken and boarded windows. Tenants said the managers promised them money back for doing the repairs, but never paid it.

“This house was so filthy, I was scared to bring my kids,” said Deborah Talley-Liggins, 39, a school bus driver and mother of five. For most of the time since she moved in last March, more than half of her house has had no electricity, forcing the family to use a maze of extension cords, she said.

The house had so many mice, she said, that the family got a cat even though she and several of her children are allergic to the animals. Instead of seeing mice running now, she said, “I see them dead.”

Avol has evicted the family, and they are to be out within a week, still owing nearly $3,000 rent.

In a nearby house, David and Kathy Chase said they found similar conditions when they moved in last May as newlyweds. They said they were attracted by the reasonable rent, even though it meant having to do many of the repairs themselves.

But David Chase, 25, said Avol’s managers never provided the materials they had promised for the repairs. The couple and their now 14-month-old son went months with broken windows, and said they could only take showers every other day to avoid overflowing their septic tank.

Kathy Chase, 27, said her lower legs have been covered for months by sores that a doctor said are mite bites.

“It’s very painful,” she said. “Sometimes it itches, and it bleeds all the time.”

Avol said: “I can’t be responsible if they have fleas on their dogs.”

Avol also tried to evict the Chases, who have been organizing other tenants. But Antelope Municipal Judge Frank Jackson rejected Avol’s request Friday, ruling that the Chases’ house was “partially uninhabitable.”

David Chase, who had not been paying rent because of the disputes, said he was not sure whether the ruling is a victory. While pleased at not being evicted for now, he said what he really wants is to get his $500 security deposit back from Avol so the family can move elsewhere.