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An attorney from Beverly Hills has been accused of squatting – or illegally living in a foreclosed home – in California's Inland Empire region, which is plagued with squatters.
Authorities have found more than 60 squatters in the Inland Empire over the past couple of years. They weren't expecting an attorney who fights to protect the neighborhood to be one of them.
“All I want to say is I’m completely innocent of all charges. I do not want to make any statements,” said Joseph Sclafani. “These are completely unbelievable accusations.”
As a bankruptcy and property attorney, Sclafani helps prevent squatters and vandals from entering neighborhoods. But last year, according to the Riverside District Attorney’s office, he himself broke into a home, lived there illegally for a month and when police told him to get out, he personally trashed the house.
“I’m just tired of it,” said Rob Gilbert, president of the local homeowners’ association. Gilbert claims he watched Sclafani wreak havoc in the home. Walls in the home were smeared with feces and toilets were filled with quick cement.
“I see his car there. I show up what’s going on he’s breaking this countertop with a pipe. He yells at me, tells me he’s going to kill me, that he’s member of the Italian mafia,” Gilbert said.
Read the original report on NBCLosAngeles.com
Sclafani vehemently denied those claims, adding that evidence revealed later in court will prove he’s innocent.
Squatting has plagued the Inland Empire, where one contractor who fixes up trashed homes says nearly all of his work is done.
“A lot of calls from the IE. At least a hundred homes a month,” said Eric Barnes, a contractor.
Councilman Jess Molina has proposed a city ordinance to prevent these problems and the witness in this case says he’s witnessed many more instances.
“I’ve caught gang bangers in the neighborhood, from LA. Chop shops in the neighborhood. I take my job very seriously to protect my neighborhood,” Gilbert said.
Sclafani faces more than three years in prison if convicted. His first court appearance is in January.
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If true he needs to lose his license to practice law, at the minimum, in addition to any jail time. That is just bafflingly insane for someone to act like that.
What a disgusting action to smear feces all over. You have got to be messed up in the head to do something so freaking gross. Fine the living "shizznit" out of him! Gross gross human being.
I believe that there are only about 1 in 5 attorneys that are worth hiring. For some reason they think that their degree makes them special, even if it takes them 15 years and 10 tries at the bar exam to get the plague to hang on their wall.
And we kep electing attorneys to write our laws for us?
Another cockroach Lawyer, throw him in Prison with the gangs in regualr population. Feces will be smeared but not on the walls.
If you look up his profile on calbar.org, you will see that (1) he went to a non-ABA accredited law school and (2) he is currently facing disciplinary proceedings for failing to do promised work for a client. Based on the latter factor (and that this is not his first round of disciplinary proceedings), it is possible he will lose his legal license for reasons having nothing to do with the alleged squatting.
Just because this guy is an attorney doesn't mean hes better anyone else. I myself believe the guy is guilty of what hes being charged with and once he is found guilty I wonder what he will lose, license in the state of Cal to practice law, (that "practice law" always get me laughing too!) will he get fined too? I would hope he would end up paying for the damages and lost revenue of the property as well.
This guy for some reason just reminds me a low life that went and bought a cheap suit to try to look a part and he even fails at that.
What has happened to peoples morals? Where did honesty go? How does a person like this even live with themselves not to mention justify what they have done to someone else?
Worst part of this whole thing is that it was this mans "job" to keep people from doing exactly what he went and did he himself!!! Hope this guy hasn't had any kids yet as this is one of those people that needs to be fixed to help the human race progress to a better future, the gene pool is getting so messed up it looks like what was on the walls in the video.
At its rate of self-destruction, inside of 10 years the United States will be a complete and total pile of crap. Actually, its fairly close right now.
Lets have another round of mortgage and banking fraud from our "Chosen One" friends. That should seal the deal in a hurry
What a class act - - no wonder he's an attorney!!!
WHAT ?? a a fine upstanding legal professional sponging off others as well as living at someone Else's expense? ...and breaking the laws he took an oath to protect?......naw it just cant be............
Wonder how many of this guys clients were paying him with drugs or at least giving him a bonus of same...
UH Dude.......
an attorney who cant be trusted and instead takes advantage of the situation to better himself?....naw....next thing you know they will tell us that he was lying, and you KNOW that simply cant or wont EVER happen..........
WTF??? SMH!!!
He is an attorney and acting like this? If he is this insane then he needs to lose his right to practice law. Law that he is clearly not following.
This story is just straight-up weird! WTF.... LOL.
***Still shaking my head ***
Actually, California is wacky when it comes to squatters. All he would of have to have done is stay there for 5 years, then he would of owned the place. (http://money.howstuffworks.com/squatting1.htm)
If he could have stayed in the house for 30 days without anyone noticing, or started to improve the home, that would have established some more rights for him. As a squatter. And yes, that does sound stupid, doesn't it?
slow news day? remember the old adage "when a dog bites a man that's not news but when a man bites a dog...."
i mean really NBC...when you find an honest hard working attorney who really cares about his client...let us know...
That's a Lawyer ?
yep pretty much
look up the critter....."blood sucking leach"....same thing....
Model citizen .
its CA, he will probably run for office.....and get elected.......if not move to chitown, he would be revered there....
Yeah, lets get rid of all the lawyers and judges and courts and have mob rule justice, that's what we need.
This guy missed his obvious calling, POLITICS.
I don't think this guy is guilty - this is more of a private vendetta between him and the President of the Homeowner's association.
Homeowner's association is a den of neighborhood Nazis.
What do you call a 100 lawyers at the bottom of monterey bay???? A good start./
that is so right! The worst thing in the world that anybody can be is a lawyer.
Attorney, from California, breaks the law, I am still waiting for the story here!
He should lose his license to pratice law and be forced to clean every home in the neighborhood that has been trashed. As well as pay for all damages that cannot be cleaned and requires a contractor to complete. Time for the madness to stop and examples to be set.
Ha!! Its Calf. The land of the Nuts..ROFL
Make him clean it up,of course not,pay some poor Mexican 2 dollars a hour to do it.The guy's a dirt bag,his way or no way.He will sit their and lie to the judge and get away with it,sad.
To bad the judge couldn't force him to clean the mess up himself as part of the punishment! Scumbag.
Just look at his picture. LOSER
Its either true, or hes annoyed someone with a lot of power. Either case, I hope they expose the guilty party, then give them an appropriate punishment. If its the lawyer that is guilty, he should lose his license.
NO say it isn't so. A low life scum bag attorney? A Lawyer? An officer of the court? And the California Bar Association will probably let him keep his license. Talk about taking advantage of ones legal abilities to the detriment of others!!
What was actually on these walls was the attorney's own blend of Special Home Improvement Treatment.
Why won't a pig eat a lawyer?
Common courtesty...
........another jailhouse lawyer in the making....
Leave him alone! He was doing legal research on how best to protect his clients by living like one of the squatters he defends against. It's not his fault - his intentions were misconstrued! That pipe needed to be straightened so he could restore the toilets operation, but he had to go bad, and he figured spreading it on the walls would help it dry fast and reduce the offensive odor for the nieghbors, and the countertop already had a chip in it! He's as innocent as a newborn, I tell 'ya! Innocent!
....not