Mike and Patty Nijjar's Crowning Achievements
Deceit, Disrepair and Death Inside a Southern California Real
Estate Empire
"Nijjar himself lives in a Los Angeles suburb that Forbes
Magazine once called “America’s Most Expensive ZIP Code.”
His 12,000-square-foot hillside mansion, dubbed “Villa
Bellefontaine,” sits in a gated community and boasts six
bedrooms, nine bathrooms, a waterfall, a tennis court, a
reflecting pool, a screening room and a vineyard
Many of Nijjar’s tenants live in starkly different
conditions, fighting off roaches, rats, bedbugs, bees,
maggots and mold, all while struggling to get even minor
issues fixed. At many of these rentals, low-income residents
feel stuck in unsanitary, dangerous housing.."
Read More
Mold and sewage plague South L.A. apartments even after
inspections
Sabrina Dolan is convinced that her apartment is poisoning
her.
Black, mold-like spots dot the windowsill in her living
room. They appear on her bedroom windows along with signs of
termites. The spots also cover a corner of her bathroom, and
no amount of scrubbing can make them go away.
Recently, she’s been coughing up chunks of thick, dark
mucus.
And no matter how many times she says she complains to her
landlord at the South Los Angeles apartment she shares with
her fiancé, nothing ever gets repaired.
Read More
KPCC Feature radio documentary