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Landlord Sam Menlo began a 60-day sentence Sunday at his run-down Anaheim complex, which residents say is infested with rats almost the size of cats as well as cockroaches and fleas.

Residents at the 368-unit Ridgewood Gardens who knew about Menlo’s sentence said his accommodations at the complex were nowhere near as bad as what they have endured for years.

“He’s living like a king. They repaired and cleaned the apartment where he’s at,” said Rose Benitez, a tenant for 18 months. “The judge should’ve ordered him to live in my apartment.”

Menlo, a Los Angeles-area resident, is required to wear an electronic monitoring device to ensure he remains on the property. Superior Court Judge Michael Hayes handed down the sentence after visiting the property at North Temple Street and Orangethorpe Avenue in September and declaring the units grossly neglected.

On Sunday, six security guards who said they were hired by Menlo restricted access to the complex, refusing to allow a reporter on the property. A woman who answered the telephone in the manager’s office in the afternoon said Menlo was asleep in an apartment, and he would not comment.

Century Quality Management, based on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles, manages the property. The company, which lists Menlo as president, has estimated annual sales of $3.3 million, according to Dun & Bradstreet. Central Quality Management officials could not be reached for comment.

Menlo is reported to own about 65 Southland properties worth approximately $62 million. Last week, he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor violations of building and safety codes at a run-down Fullerton complex that he also owns. He agreed to repair the Fullerton complex and pay $6,850 in penalties.

Benitez complained about the rats, roaches and fleas inside the apartments.

“The rats look like cats,” she said. “It’s an injustice the way we live, the pestilence our children have to endure. I’ve had to do without a ceiling in the bathroom since I moved in. They won’t do anything about it.”

She said she rents a two-bedroom apartment for $850 a month.

Benitez was one of the few residents interviewed outside the complex who agreed to be identified. Others said they feared retribution from Menlo.

In 1997, an investigation by Anaheim officials turned up what authorities labeled widespread unsafe conditions, including defective flooring, hazardous electrical wiring and plumbing, trash and other debris piled throughout the Ridgewood Gardens grounds.

It was so run down that in 1996 the city of Placentia paid Menlo to install a wrought iron fence around the complex, located on the Anaheim-Placentia border.

An Anaheim code enforcement official said at the time that the fence was an attempt by Placentia “to contain the problem, the unsightliness and all.”

Residents said that security at the complex was beefed up after Menlo was ordered Oct. 2 to live at Ridgewood Gardens for two months. One resident who wanted to be identified only as Jesus said the manager told some tenants that Menlo did not want the media taking photographs inside the apartment.

Visitors, including family members of some tenants, are often turned away by guards, residents said.

“How can they do that? How can they refuse to allow me to bring a friend or family member to my home?” Jesus asked. His cousin and niece, who were visiting from Harbor City on Sunday, were turned back and not allowed to visit.

Temple Street, which runs only one block, bisects the apartment complex. The security guards were operating entrance and exit gates near where Temple connects with Orangethorpe Avenue, checking people and vehicles entering and exiting. Some people leaving the complex Sunday were questioned about where they were going and when they planned to return.

The security guards also refused to allow nonresidents to walk on the sidewalks in front of the buildings.

Balbir Singh, who said he worked for Menlo, was with uniformed guards at the entrance to the complex, screening cars and people. He said that Menlo was merely exercising his right to limit access to “his private property.”

Singh said that Menlo and Century Quality Management reached an agreement with Anaheim officials permitting him to block the street and sidewalks.

Anaheim police and fire officials said they did not know whether the city had authorized Menlo to block either, although they said Temple is a public street.