Apartment Owner Fined for 2nd Slum Conviction

A Hollywood man was ordered Monday to pay $15,114 in fines and costs stemming from his second conviction this year on criminal slum charges for apartment buildings in which he has ownership interests.

Under the sentence handed down by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Sam Ohta, Sandro Sabatini faces 60 days of house arrest if repairs are not made by Feb. 20, said Deputy City Atty. Rubin Harsoyo.

Sabatini, 52, pleaded no contest to 10 violations of health and building and safety codes at the 24-unit apartment building at 300 N. Park View St., the prosecutor said. Sabatini is a general partner in a limited partnership that owns the two-story complex in the Westlake district.

Co-defendant Maria Alicia Montes pleaded no contest Monday to three code violations at the building. Montes, 48, of Corona, who is also part of the limited partnership, is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 28.

Investigators from the city’s Slum Housing Task Force inspected the building between October and May and reported a host of violations, including rodent infestation, damaged or missing smoke detectors, missing ground fault interrupters in kitchens and bathrooms, deteriorated hot water piping, accumulated trash and debris and damaged walls, floors and sinks.

On Jan. 12, Sabatini and another man each pleaded no contest to 10 criminal slum violations stemming from the condition of an Exposition Park district building they owned. They were fined a total of $12,042, Harsoyo said.