JESSICA FARGEN
The Boston Herald

A Hub landlord whose illegal tenants caused one of the city's biggest blazes is refusing to fix the firetrap, drawing the ire of the mayor on the eve of a new assault on dangerous properties.


``I'm gonna do nothing,'' Candeloro J. Maggio told the Herald last week when asked whether he would comply with the city's demands to fix code violations at 31 Norfolk Ave.

Maggio - who, according to public records, owns a $621,000 home in New Hampshire - told the Herald he knew his tenants were living in the rundown Roxbury complex illegally and that they caused the Aug. 21 fire when they shot fireworks into his next-door warehouse, which had a hole in the roof. Authorities say Maggio's buildings had electrical code violations, piles of trash and debris, and an illegal auto-body shop where inspectors found flammable materials and exposed wiring.

The landlord's defiance outraged Mayor Thomas M. Menino, who has launched a crackdown on owners of abandoned and unsafe property.

``He's saying, `Hey, neighborhood - I don't care. My job is to make money off you,' '' a fuming Menino said, threatening to take Maggio to court if he doesn't act.

``We are going to do everything we can to get him to repair that property if it means incarceration, or whatever it means,'' he said.

At a Tuesday hearing attended by the Herald, hearing officers weighed whether to condemn 31 Norfolk Ave.

``You were caught red-handed,'' hearing officer Regina Hanson told Maggio, after he admitted he knew he had tenants living there illegally.

``You have to (work with inspectors) to get to the point where the building that is out there is safe and secure not just for residents, but also the neighborhood itself,'' Hanson said.

But Maggio - who also owes the city $194,000 in back taxes - insisted he couldn't afford to take the steps ordered by the city, including hiring a licensed electrician to assess violations.

``There's no way I can do what you are asking me to do,'' he said.

That stance alarms public-safety authorities.

``To me, it's unfortunate a property owner would basically say he was going to be a scofflaw and not do the right thing,'' said Boston Fire Commissioner Roderick J. Fraser.

Some 170 firefighters responded to the 9-alarm conflagration at Maggio's warehouse, which collapsed seconds after firefighters were ordered to back away.

``This was definitely a recipe for disaster,'' said Darryl Smith, assistant commissioner at the Inspectional Services Department.

The city has not decided to condemn the building. To his knowledge, Smith said Maggio has not made an attempt to fix the violations.

The property is one of 147 the department has flagged as dangerous. Starting tomorrow, a task force will aim to get landlords to fix code violations and make it easier for the city to take over dangerous, vacant properties.

The Maggio case highlights how difficult it can be for the city to force landlords to fix violations.

Some owners are uncooperative or can't be found.

ISD can take landlords to housing court where they can be fined or sent to jail - but that can take months, or longer.

The city can take over the property, but that is a long and cumbersome process that leaves dangerous, rundown eyesores to languish.

``Properties do take forever to get taken by the court,'' said Evelyn Friedman, director of the city's Neighborhood Development Department.

In January, Menino will push for legislation that would ``put teeth'' into a law he said gives landlords two years to pay back taxes.

In the meantime, the mayor has a simple message for Maggio.

``Go back to New Hampshire,'' he said. ``We don't want you here.''

Copyright 2010 Boston Herald Inc.
September 19, 2010