Fines against Lynn slumlord reach $100G

LYNN – Fines and other costs imposed against a Lynn slumlord, whose dilapidated properties in Utica, N.Y. were the scene of a deadly fire last year, have reached an estimated $100,000.Unable to locate property owner Timothy Klotz, public works crews in Utica last Saturday demolished the apartment building at 102 James St. where four occupants became trapped and died in a Sept. 20, 2009 blaze.Klotz has long been a source of irritation for tax collectors, fire inspectors and code enforcement personnel in Lynn where he owes thousands of dollars in fines.Ten days after the Utica fire, members of the Lynn Inspectional Services Department’s multi-agency task force went to 93-95 Green St., a rundown, six-unit, wooden apartment house built around 1900 and owned by Jacqueline Realty Trust, which lists Klotz as trustee. Inspectors found many code violations, including unsafe porch landings, missing stairway handrails and an absence of stairway lighting – all considered threats to life safety.Roger Ennis, Lynn’s chief building inspector, said Klotz appointed property manager Richard Sokolow, with a business address at 282 Washington St. in Salem, as his authorized agent to oversee the emergency repairs. Other code violations at the Green Street building, although not life threatening, include excessive storage in the basement – boxes, furniture and antiquated equipment accumulated over the years, as well as a pile of debris containing asbestos.Ennis said Klotz has since sold all but three Lynn properties – the Green Street apartment building and residences on Cooper and Marianna streets.”Our records show that Mr. Klotz still owes the city $3,625 for fines that go back to 2005,” he said.Recent law changes in Massachusetts and New York have made code violations a criminal matter and attached the fines to the property title.”Instead of these fines being attached to the property as they are now – since the law change – they would not travel with the property when ownership was exchanged. As a result, the new owner would not be responsible for paying the fines,” Ennis said. “In many cases where there had been code enforcement, the former owner would simply walk way from the fines and skirt the law. That situation led Klotz and a handful of owners to flaunt the law in Lynn.”Under the new law, fines must be paid or otherwise remedied as part of the property sale.”When the fines start to ring up, bring the owners into court. We need to make them aware of the safety regulations. When people start dying, that is the extreme we are trying to stay away from,” he said. “That can be difficult if you have somebody who intentionally breaks the law.”Nicole Bush, 18, whose father, Bruce, was among the victims in the Utica fire, watched the heavy construction equipment tear down the charred, three-story structure. She told reporters, “Now you don’t have to look at the building and you don’t have to remember that day.”Utica officials said Klotz will be billed for the demolition expenses, which could reach $60,000. When added to code and fire inspection fines that predate the tragedy, Klotz’s total indebtedness to the city amounts to an estimated $100,000.Klotz missed the original April demolition deadline and a subsequent one April 16. Utica authorities unsuccessfully tried to force Klotz to demolish the fire-ravaged building because an engineer found it structurally unsound. Klotz responded by filing a lawsuit, contending the building contained evidence that could show firefighters did not properly attack the fire and perhaps contributed to the deaths.Utica firefighters called Klotz’s suggestion absurd.Klotz lives in the Utica suburb of New Hartford and maintains a Marblehead post office box as a Massachusetts address.Information from the Utica Observer-Dispatch was used in this report