A loophole got him a free New York hotel stay for five years. Then he claimed to own the building

News@lemmy.world – 178 points – 4 months ago

A loophole got him a free New York hotel stay for five years. Then he claimed to own the building

For five years, a New York City man managed to live rent-free in a landmark Manhattan hotel by exploiting an obscure local housing law.

But prosecutors this week said Mickey Barreto went too far when he filed paperwork claiming ownership of the entire New Yorker Hotel building — and tried to charge another tenant rent.

On Wednesday, he was arrested and charged with filing false property records. But Barreto, 48, says he was surprised when police showed up at his boyfriend’s apartment with guns and bullet-proof shields. As far as he is concerned, it should be a civil case, not a criminal one.

Imagine completely legally swindling your way into living rent free in one of New York's most prestigious hotels only to completely fuck it up by trying to fraudulently claim you own the building

Not just rent. Water, electricity, internet, maybe even food.

Went from a "nice, fuck those landlords!" to a "ah fucker is just trying to become another landlord".

While I think police acting like this are way more intense than necessary, I'm not upset with them over this instance.

He's trying to fuck up the Moonies. He may have just bitten off more than he can chew this time.

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Guns and bullet proof shields?

Fucking cops are overly dramatic.

It's all that warrior training bullshit. De-escalation is not prioritized, instead they are told anyone might be out to kill them, so they have to be ready to murder them first.

He could have had the pen used to sign the documents. Very dangerous

The pen is mightier than the sword or something like that.

Does it work, Trebeck? The penis mightier?

Did you see the body cam video released a couple of days ago of the Florida cop who went completely berserk when he heard an acorn hit his car? Definitely overly dramatic...

This is such a weird story...

“I said ’Oh, I thought you were doing something for Valentine’s Day to spice up the relationship until I saw the female officers,’” Barreto recalled telling his boyfriend.

The judge ordered the hotel to give Baretto a key. He said he lived there until July 2023 without paying any rent because the building’s owners never wanted to negotiate a lease with him, but they couldn’t kick him out.

But they say he didn’t stop there: In 2019, he uploaded a fake deed to a city website, purporting to transfer ownership of the entire building to himself from the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity, which bought the property in 1976. The church was founded in South Korea by a self-proclaimed messiah, the late Rev. Sun Myung Moon.

Inventor Nikola Tesla lived at the hotel for for a decade. NBC broadcasted from the hotel’s Terrace Room. Boxers, including Muhammad Ali, stayed there when they had bouts at the Garden. It closed as a hotel in 1972 and was used for years for church purposes before part of the building reopened as a hotel in 1994.

That feels like the hotel from John Wick series.

Bro was living the sovcit dream but wanted more.

Did bro claim squatting rights lol. He might acually win.

He got greedy, claimed he owned the whole building and tried to charge other people rent.

He might've been fine if he'd just left it alone.

Only do one crime at a time.

Fair but imagine if hes just playing the long time.

He was legally in the building for free. All he had to do was not commit fraud.

He committed fraud.

Sounds pretty presidential to me.

What is his next move? Stay in prison for 5 years and then file to take over ownership of the prison?

“I never intended to commit any fraud. I don’t believe I ever committed any fraud,”

The lie detector test determined... that was a lie.

This sounds far too much like George Santos for it to not be George Santos.

The moral of this story is don't shit where you eat. Dude had it good

The original owners were the moonies lol

Not original. But eventual, and current.

What an idiot i wish i was that guy

Hey don't sell yourself short. You can be an idiot too, and without much effort.

I won the appeal,” Barreto said, adding that at a crucial point in the case, lawyers for the building’s owners didn’t show up, allowing him to win by default.

The judge ordered the hotel to give Barreto a key. He said he lived there until July 2023 without paying any rent because the building’s owners never wanted to negotiate a lease with him, but they couldn’t kick him out

Hard to feel sympathy for the owners when this is their approach. He paid $200 for the room the first night, seems like they could have just charged $200/night in perpetuity and he'd eventually leave because that's $6k/mo. They just didn't care enough to bother.

Would he have been able to pass that room down to others when he died had he not pulled this own the building bullshit?