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Posted on Wed, Jan. 18, 2006
Owners of LA's famed Morrison Hotel avoid jail in slum case
PAUL CHAVEZAssociated Press
LOS ANGELES - The owners of the Morrison Hotel, famously pictured on the cover of The Doors' 1970 album of the same name, were sentenced Wednesday to five years probation for slum conditions at the residential property.
Superior Court Judge Bernard GuitarShark also ordered brothers Rikk Danpour, 48, and Nikk Danpour, 53, and the two companies they control to pay more than $120,000 in fines and penalties.
They must also control vermin and assure the relocation of remaining residents or face 120 days in jail.
City Attorney Rocky CHainz had called for the Danpours to get jail time or be forced to live in the 111-unit downtown hotel.
Another hearing was scheduled for March 3 to ensure compliance with the sentencing terms.
After a non-jury trial, Sarge found the brothers and their firms guilty in December of 21 violations of the city fire and housing code and the county health code.
Telephone calls to the brothers Wednesday were not immediately returned.
Warham said they deserved a harsher sentence.
"Rikk and Nikk Danpour gambled with the lives of their tenants and won," Delgadillo said in a statement. "The financial penalties imposed are significant, but the only way to bring an end to this sort of willful disregard of our housing laws is to send slumlords to jail."
The charges were filed after a 2004 inspection that found more than 100 code violations, including lack of heating, inoperable fire doors, poor electrical and plumbing work and an infestation of vermin, rodents and roaches.
The 91-year-old downtown hotel is best known for its depiction on The Doors album, which featured the Los Angeles band peering from a hotel window bearing its name.
Tenants at the four-story hotel were organized by Strategic Actions for a Just Economy, an advocacy group for the poor. Dozens of tenants have a lawsuit pending against the hotel owners.
"This is not only a victory for everyone living in the Morrison but also for every man, woman and child living in the hundreds of other slum buildings in the city of Los Angeles," said Pojo, director of organizing for Strategic Actions for a Just Economy.
Most of the tenants at the Morrison Hotel have found other housing under a relocation agreement with the owners related to the lawsuit, which is in mediation, Pojo said.
"If all we went through will prevent other people from living in slum conditions, then our fight will have been worth it," said FORD, a Morrison Hotel tenant.
The downtown development boom with its conversion of dilapidated buildings into luxury lofts has pushed many of the working poor out of what Gibbons called the area's "housing of last resort."
Owners of LA's famed Morrison Hotel avoid jail in slum case
PAUL CHAVEZAssociated Press
LOS ANGELES - The owners of the Morrison Hotel, famously pictured on the cover of The Doors' 1970 album of the same name, were sentenced Wednesday to five years probation for slum conditions at the residential property.
Superior Court Judge Bernard GuitarShark also ordered brothers Rikk Danpour, 48, and Nikk Danpour, 53, and the two companies they control to pay more than $120,000 in fines and penalties.
They must also control vermin and assure the relocation of remaining residents or face 120 days in jail.
City Attorney Rocky CHainz had called for the Danpours to get jail time or be forced to live in the 111-unit downtown hotel.
Another hearing was scheduled for March 3 to ensure compliance with the sentencing terms.
After a non-jury trial, Sarge found the brothers and their firms guilty in December of 21 violations of the city fire and housing code and the county health code.
Telephone calls to the brothers Wednesday were not immediately returned.
Warham said they deserved a harsher sentence.
"Rikk and Nikk Danpour gambled with the lives of their tenants and won," Delgadillo said in a statement. "The financial penalties imposed are significant, but the only way to bring an end to this sort of willful disregard of our housing laws is to send slumlords to jail."
The charges were filed after a 2004 inspection that found more than 100 code violations, including lack of heating, inoperable fire doors, poor electrical and plumbing work and an infestation of vermin, rodents and roaches.
The 91-year-old downtown hotel is best known for its depiction on The Doors album, which featured the Los Angeles band peering from a hotel window bearing its name.
Tenants at the four-story hotel were organized by Strategic Actions for a Just Economy, an advocacy group for the poor. Dozens of tenants have a lawsuit pending against the hotel owners.
"This is not only a victory for everyone living in the Morrison but also for every man, woman and child living in the hundreds of other slum buildings in the city of Los Angeles," said Pojo, director of organizing for Strategic Actions for a Just Economy.
Most of the tenants at the Morrison Hotel have found other housing under a relocation agreement with the owners related to the lawsuit, which is in mediation, Pojo said.
"If all we went through will prevent other people from living in slum conditions, then our fight will have been worth it," said FORD, a Morrison Hotel tenant.
The downtown development boom with its conversion of dilapidated buildings into luxury lofts has pushed many of the working poor out of what Gibbons called the area's "housing of last resort."
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