Romanos Found Guilty of Fraud and Elder Abuse, Told to Vacate
Lawyer Paul Morantz
Attorney Paul Morantz told Circling the News that in the case of Thomas Hunter vs. Bradford Romano, the Court of Appeals judge ordered on July 24 that the Romanos leave the Hunter home, restoring it to the Hunters.
The judge also found the Romanos guilty of fraud and elder abuse.
Morantz, a well-respected and retired lawyer, represented owners, Thomas and Miriam Hunter, 87 and 71. The Palisades attorney had filed a complaint for actual fraud, damages for elder abuse, trespass, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and injunctive relief against Bradford Romano and Suzan Romano.
The story began when the elderly couple rented the house to the Romanos for a short time, while the husband was in a rehab center.
The Romanos said they would pay $750 a night from February 8 through February 28, stating that their house was in the middle of a remodel and they needed a place to stay during the construction.
According to Morantz, the Romanos did not own any real estate but rather have been using this ploy since 2011. “A litigation search revealed judgments against the Romanos totaling it is believed around a million dollars,” Morantz wrote. “A substantial number of these money judgments are for unpaid residential rents.”
When the Highlands couple tried to regain their home, Romano told the Hunters, that “he and Suzan [his wife] were now the ‘legal residents’ of the Chastain property and that plaintiffs were prohibited from setting foot on ‘their’ property.”
The initial story “Warning to Homeowners Who Are renting a House or a Room: Watch for Grifters” was reported on June 10 on Circling the News. https://www.circlingthenews.com/warning-to-homeo…out-for-grifters/
No Crime Here, According to Ralphs’ Manager
Citizen App reported that there was an armed robbery at Ralphs grocery store on Sunset Boulevard before 3 p.m. on July 26.
Circling the News went to the location, where two officers were in front of the store. The patrol car was located in the “no parking” area directly in front of the store.
One of the officers told Circling the News that a homeless man had stolen beer from the store.
A Ralph’s customer was complimenting the officers on the response time, that they were so fast. They told her if it is a 911 call or a crime like a robbery, they try to respond rapidly.
They said they were headed to look for the guy and drove off before CTN could get a description of the suspect.
CTN went into Ralphs and asked the manager for a description of the guy. The manager denied that anything happened. It was pointed out that the initial call had been put on the app and that the cops were in front of the store and had told this editor a guy had stolen beer.
“Nothing happened here,” the manager said. “The cops just showed up for no reason.”
(Circling the News learned on July 27 that a male Hispanic walked into the store and took a bottle of alcohol and brandished a knife when approached by employees. The store opted to not make a police report.)
LAPD said that they had responded to a man with a knife stealing beer. The Ralphs manager said there was no robbery and that the police just showed up.