Landlord OKs Settlement in Toxic Lead Case

In the first government action of its kind in California, a Los Angeles landlord who is allegedly responsible for exposing possibly thousands of tenants and their children to dangerous levels of lead contamination has agreed to clean up a sprawling Eastside complex and pay a $1.2-million settlement.

The agreement struck by Los Angeles City Atty. James K. Hahn’s office with the owner of the Wyvernwood Garden Apartments in Boyle Heights is a landmark case in efforts to identify and treat thousands of low-income children at risk of lead poisoning, prosecutors and public health officials say. Wyvernwood is one of the city’s largest apartment developments and has 8,000 residents--a quarter of them under 7 years old.

The case is the most far-reaching lead paint case ever brought under California’s Proposition 65, the pioneering toxic protection initiative. The case also brings to a close a torturous, four-year investigation dogged by delays, controversy and politics.

The Wyvernwood owner, Samuel S. Mevorach, is a key figure in a separate FBI corruption investigation of Los Angeles Councilman Richard Alatorre. At one point during the lead contamination probe, Alatorre unsuccessfully tried to broker a private meeting with prosecutors and the landlord.

Alatorre also allegedly received the help of Mevorach associates as he bought a new home in late 1996. The Times reported in December that one associate said Mevorach arranged for him to pay Alatorre $2,800 and sign a phony lease agreement to help the lawmaker qualify for a new home loan. Other Mevorach associates later leased and purchased a money-losing condominium that Alatorre was trying to unload.

At the same time, Alatorre lobbied for and won City Hall approval of a taxpayer-backed purchase and refurbishment of Wyvernwood that would have paid Mevorach about $30 million. However, the deal unraveled last year, partly because of investor concerns over lead contamination.

Mevorach and Alatorre have declined to discuss their dealings, but insist that they have done nothing wrong.

So far, four cases of lead poisoning of children have been documented at the development and more could be discovered as testing continues and additional apartments are made safe for the many children still living there. Lead poisoning of youngsters can cause behavioral and learning problems, and even death in the most severe cases, health officials say.

Mevorach added to the risks by permitting illegal paint removal that spread contaminated chips and dust, authorities allege.

“It really points up the problem of lead-based and potential lead poisoning of children here in Los Angeles,” said Hahn, who will discuss the settlement today at a news conference. “At some point very early on here, years ago, Mr. Mevorach knew what he was doing here was wrong. He was violating the law and he was exposing children to this hazardous substance.”

Mevorach’s attorney in the lead case, Sheldon H. Sloan, disputed the city’s allegations, saying that his client settled because litigating the case “wasn’t worth the aggravation” and that his client would have had to clean up the property anyway. “We worked out a very fair resolution that achieves goals that serve the public,” Sloan said.

Built in the late 1930s, Wyvernwood was a model of urban living. But in recent years, the Olympic Boulevard development slid into disrepair. It came under official scrutiny around 1993 when health officials found lead-contaminated paint up to 25 times permissible standards inside apartments where child poisonings were confirmed. The exterior of those units had lead levels as much 94 times acceptable standards.

Under the agreement, Mevorach or any future owners of Wyvernwood must make the entire complex lead safe by December 2000. Mevorach will have to deposit $1 million in a security account, which is expected to generate $350,000 in interest over three years to help expand lead testing of children in Wyvernwood and across East Los Angeles.

In addition, the defendants will pay $150,000 to an account to help fund medical treatment of children with lead poisoning and $50,000 to cover city expenses in the case. Current and new tenants must also be warned that their buildings contain hazardous lead paint.

The settlement was praised by Wyvernwood residents and a community activist who helped get the investigation started. Particularly welcome was news that many more children will be tested, said Rosa Villasenor, a 28-year Wyvernwood resident.

“This is a victory for the children of East L.A.,” said Linda Kite, whose organizing efforts focused attention on the problem.

Hoping to build on the settlement, Kaiser Permanente and the county health department are planning a community outreach program to educate families about the dangers of lead poisoning and the need for testing.

Those dangers were underscored in July 1994, officials said, when county health investigators conducting a surprise Wyvernwood inspection found workers--who said they were unaware of the hazards--illegally “dry scraping” lead paint without protective gear. Tenants told investigators the paint removal took place with children nearby.

Even after Mevorach and other defendants were told the paint removal violated safety standards and could spread hazardous dust and chips, inspectors found that the improper work was continuing a week later. “That’s what exacerbated the problem,” said Deputy City Atty. Vincent B. Sato, who oversaw the case.

Sato said Mevorach willingly settled with the city but only because “we were breathing down their necks.”

Although the case began in the district attorney’s office, it languished amid political and community concerns. In 1994, Councilman Alatorre intervened, summoning prosecutors to his office for a private meeting with Mevorach. Prosecutors rejected the overture, saying that it could jeopardize the investigation.

Alatorre then went to Dist. Atty. Gil Garcetti, impressing upon him the need for nothing to stand in the way of Mevorach’s sale of the property to a “reliable good owner,” according to the councilman’s account of the overture.

Garcetti shifted the case to the city attorney last year, after L.A. Weekly disclosed that Mevorach had made a political contribution to Garcetti and that Mevorach’s attorney had raised money for the district attorney’s campaign.

Apparently undeterred, Alatorre then tried to contact the newly assigned city prosecutor, who refused to return his call. He “felt it wouldn’t be appropriate to have any contact with the councilman on this case,” according to city attorney spokesman Mike Qualls.

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Lead Cleanup

The landlord allegedly responsible for lead contamination at the Wyvernwood Garden Apartments has agreed to clean up the sprawling Eastside complex and pay a $1.2-million settlement.