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No one's posted a white trash pic, so... |
Posted on 03/09/2006 1:27:54 PM PST by Coleus
MAHWAH -- Two white watering cans and a yellow broom dangle above the porch of a stone and shingle house perched atop North Hillside Avenue. Just below, empty flower pots and plastic chairs and tables clutter the entryway. "No trespassing" and "Beware of dog" signs line the sloping property.
The more-than-100-year-old house has been home to Samantha Moor for 10 years. Its sloppy condition is the reason she nearly spent the night in jail. Moor, in her late 40s, was arrested Tuesday morning and sent to the Bergen County Jail for failing to pay $4,921 in fines issued by Mahwah for property maintenance violations. She was bailed out by her former husband just before midnight.
The township has issued Moor 37 summonses dating to April 2004. A warrant was issued for her arrest when she failed to make payments, as set forth by a municipal judge. "Since she couldn't afford to make the repairs, she couldn't afford to pay the fines," said George Cotz, a lawyer Moor called from jail on Tuesday. She was expected to appear in Municipal Court in Mahwah at 1:30 p.m. today, although Cotz, who is trying another case, won't be at her side.
Moor could not be reached for comment. Cotz said her phone has been disconnected. "I don't think she particularly has any marketable skills," Cotz said. "Before she got married and had a child, she was a clerk in an office. And I think she's got health issues.
"She really has no money," he said. "I don't think this is a show." Moor's troubles started with a dishonest contractor who tore apart her house and walked away with her money, according to Ian J. Hirsch, a Hackensack lawyer who used to represent her. The contractor was fined in Mahwah Municipal Court, but that didn't help Moor, Hirsch said. "The house stayed the way it was," he said. "The scaffolding stayed, there were shingles in the yard. It started to become an eyesore."
Moor's neighbors began complaining, and eventually the fines started piling up. "The town building inspector was very, very nice," Hirsch said. "We genuinely tried to help her. But she doesn't have any money, so what can she do?" When Moor was arrested Tuesday, she called another lawyer, Hirsch suspects, because she owes Hirsch money. "Had she called me, I would have helped her anyway," he said.
When Hirsch represented Moor, she was taking classes to become a plumber, he said. "She's trying to hold onto a piece of property she's not going to be able to." Moor's property taxes were paid in full in 2005, officials said. But her first-quarter payment, due Feb. 1, has not been received. Hirsch describes Moor as a nice person whose problems have snowballed. "Some people belong in jail. Not Samantha Moor," he said. "You don't put people who are struggling to survive in jail."
John Lane, Mahwah's property maintenance and zoning enforcement officer, says Moor's problem is that she hasn't complied with the ordinances or the court orders that attempted to enforce them. If people comply and show an effort, he said, the township will work with them. "The ultimate goal we're looking for is compliance," Lane said. "We'd rather residents put the money toward property maintenance" than fines.
The idea of racking up thousands of dollars in fines, he said, is not unusual in the sprawling township. Going to jail over them is. In nearby Ramsey, both are unheard of. "We've never had anything that extreme," said Ramsey's zoning officer, Richard Mammone, who has been with the borough for 30 years. Most of the property maintenance complaints in Mahwah come from neighbors or other third parties, Lane said.
An enforcement officer investigates the complaint to check its validity. If the violation exists, residents are given a letter saying they have three days to comply. If they don't make the necessary changes, a second letter is issued saying the resident has one day to comply. If they still don't comply, a third letter is sent warning that a summons will be issued, he said. After that, a summons is issued every day the property owner fails to comply.
Yes, why did she stop after completing the roof, was she claiming now depression?
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No one's posted a white trash pic, so... |
John Lane is a LIAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I complied with everything but the gutters and he knows it.
These creeps are backpeddling as fast as they can because they had been getting away with harassing me for so long they thought they would be able to continue escalating without any consequence to themselves. Now that they find themselves under publice scrutiny they are trying to save their own reptilian skins.
The police broke into my house without a warrant and assaulted me- hmmmm do you think they might be a little bit worried????
They did know my "story", they knew I was alone and vulnerable and they set upon me like a pack of jackals.
I am not alone in this however, they are also going after elderly widows and widowers. Forcing their way into these peoples' homes and fining them for every ridiculous little thing.
I am fighting not only for myself, but for all the others in town that are being persecuted by those who believe that "might" makes "right".
How would you feel if someone broke into your mother's house and assaulted her????
My house was broken into without a warrant and I was assaulted, is that enough of a violation for you?
Excuse me?
I know what Judge Gianni said as I am the person he was addressing in court. He had said that "maybe", "MAYBE", he might reduce the fines -or not. This has been ongoing for six years and they always LIE!!!
They tell me to do one thing, and then when I do exactly what they said they assess a fine against me for doing it the way they told me to in the first place.
Look up the Bergen County Mosquito Control Commisssion and email Pete Randine and he can tell you quite a story.
I know what Judge Gianni said as I am the person he was addressing in court. He had said that "maybe", "MAYBE", he might reduce the fines -or not. This has been ongoing for six years and they always LIE!!!
They tell me to do one thing, and then when I do exactly what they said they assess a fine against me for doing it the way they told me to in the first place.
Look up the Bergen County Mosquito Control Commisssion and email Pete Randine and he can tell you quite a story.
I know what Judge Gianni said as I am the person he was addressing in court. He had said that "maybe", "MAYBE", he might reduce the fines -or not. This has been ongoing for six years and they always LIE!!!
They tell me to do one thing, and then when I do exactly what they said they assess a fine against me for doing it the way they told me to in the first place.
Look up the Bergen County Mosquito Control Commisssion and email Pete Randine and he can tell you quite a story.
I know what Judge Gianni said as I am the person he was addressing in court. He had said that "maybe", "MAYBE", he might reduce the fines -or not. This has been ongoing for six years and they always LIE!!!
They tell me to do one thing, and then when I do exactly what they said they assess a fine against me for doing it the way they told me to in the first place.
Look up the Bergen County Mosquito Control Commisssion and email Pete Randine and he can tell you quite a story.
Who said she stopped????
Who said she stopped????
Who said she stopped????
I just sent you a private mail......
She stopped enough to make the condition of her place become an issue, right?
you're excused, it looks like the homeowner in the article found this thread here on the FR and registered with a screen name. You might want to answer her with an answer rather than a question.
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I'm sorry that you choose to see things in such a negative way.
As soon as I am able to I will try to get pictures to post.
Do you own your own home?
Funny thing about houses especially old ones- there is always something that needs fixing.
While I can do the following repairs on my own: wiring, plumbing, carpentry, sheet-rock and dry-wall taping, painting, roofing, tiling, gardening and lanscaping, it can be a challenge to pay for the materials when the town is continually extorting money from me.
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