Hollywood : Slumlord Pleads Guilty

Convicted slumlord Milton Avol pleaded guilty late last week to 10 counts of fire, health and safety code violations at his 93-unit La Paula Apartments complex.

Deputy Los Angeles City Atty. Richard M. Bobb, who prosecuted the case, said Avol will be required to pay $13,500 in fines and penalties plus another $2,904 in costs to city agencies.

Bobb said the Beverly Hills neurosurgeon must also complete 200 hours of community service and bring the four-story building at 1658-1660 N. Western Ave. up to code by May 4.

Avol, former chief of staff at the Robert F. Kennedy Medical Center in Hawthorne, has a long and notorious history as a Los Angeles landlord.

Between 1979 and 1986, he was prosecuted for slum violations at a number of his apartment houses, including the La Paula Apartments. In 1985, a judge sentenced Avol to “house arrest” in one of his own buildings. He eventually served the 30-day sentence at La Paula.

Last week, Avol’s attorney, Mitchell W. Egers, defended his client as a “real gentleman” who, in reacquiring the La Paula complex through foreclosure, found himself in possession of a building that had been severely damaged by unruly tenants.

“Dr. Avol has gone farther than most people would go in fixing up this place,” Egers said.

Bobb said the condition of the complex has improved since charges were filed late last year against Avol and his company, Worldwide Enterprises Inc. “Repairs have been progressing at an acceptable pace,” Bobb said.

In exchange for Avol’s plea, the city attorney’s office dropped 17 of the original 27 counts brought against Avol in connection with the building.