It may only cost us $16,000 in fines to get rid of him, but it's worth it!
State regulators ordered a Hallandale Beach condo president
to resign immediately after learning he was a convicted felon.
Robert Picerno refused.
When
a state investigator told Picerno
to reinstate two owners improperly kicked off the De Soto Park Condominium board, he said no. When regulators demanded association records,
he declined. And when they served him with a subpoena, he ignored it.
Picerno's defiance eventually cost residents of the seven-building, 549-unit complex in the Three
Islands neighborhood a total of more than $16,000 in fines.
Now
state regulators are looking into owners' allegations that Picerno misspent
$177,000 in condo money while Hallandale Beach Police investigate possible embezzlement, grand theft and fraud, a detective told
the newspaper.
The
tumult that accompanied Picerno's 18 months
as president at De Soto Park reflects
a sense of powerlessness familiar
to many condominium owners across South
Florida: They have
little recourse when condo boards
don't know or follow the law. Some complain of slammed doors
— or even retribution — when they press for details about how their money is spent.
Even
when disgruntled owners
get the ear of state regulators, action
can come slowly
— or never. State records in the De Soto Park case show regulators have limited authority
over board members
who insist on doing as they please.
Records obtained from the city and state show a condo roiled by conflict during
Picerno's tenure as president. Residents
filed more than a dozen complaints with the state
and city against
Picerno and the association, some alleging Picerno
misspent their money or the association stonewalled them when they asked questions.
The
association sent cease-and-desist letters to two owners who complained and slapped one couple with
a defamation lawsuit.
"This is so unfair,
especially since we've been telling
[state regulators] for so long what has been going on," said owner Annette
Pintado, who filed a complaint and got sued.
Picerno told the Sun Sentinel
he gave the condominium a dramatic face lift without
raising fees, yet was constantly under
siege from a small group
of malcontents.
"They didn't
have any knowledge of how to do things
and all they wanted to do was complain," Picerno, 68, said in a telephone interview. "They hassled me enough and tortured me and my family. ... I tried
to do
my best, but they made up story after story after story."
Felons not allowed
Picerno shouldn't have been on the board in the first place—yet it took the state six months to remove him.
Florida law bans felons who have not had their civil rights restored
from serving on condominium boards, and Picerno
had been convicted of bribery and conspiracy in Rhode Island
in 2004.
Regulators were alerted
to Picerno's felony conviction near the end of 2013, Picerno's first year as president. De Soto Park residents sent news clippings
detailing Picerno's trial for soliciting bribes while serving on a local planning board in Lincoln,
R.I.
The
state told Picerno
to step down.
Instead, he put himself on the ballot for re-election in 2014 — and won.
Picerno finally stepped down in August
2014, after state
regulators fined the association $16,579.80, demanded reinstatement of the 2013 board of directors (with the exception of Picerno), and threatened additional $5,000 fines for any board member who failed to comply.
When
asked why he ignored the state's demand
for six months,
Picerno said: "I'm not going to answer that. When I first ran, I was checked out ... and given the green light."
Stonewalled
A whirlwind of construction under Picerno brought
improvements including new security cameras,
roof and
fountain lights, tile and paint.
Those projects also brought questions from unit owners,
who noticed problems ranging from a lack of permits
to exposed wiring.
City
inspectors cited the condo for code violations in seven major projects carried
out on Picerno's
watch, ordering
immediate fixes that are still underway and have cost owners thousands
of dollars.
But when residents demanded the association provide specifics on how their
money was being spent, they were rebuffed. And so were state regulators.
At
least two owners
sent letters to the De Soto Park board requesting association records on the construction and other spending. Neither
got the records, but both got attention
from a De Soto Park attorney.
One was told in an unsigned letter
from the association she could review records — if she ponied up $540. The other received
his certified letter back — the association had declined it. Both owners filed complaints with the state.
Regulators sided with the owners and tried — unsuccessfully — to obtain
the records through
written requests to Picerno, then violation notices
and, finally, a subpoena.
As
the owners awaited
records that never came, the association sent a cease-and-desist letter to one and filed a defamation suit against another.
De
Soto Park's attorney
also fired off a cease-and-desist letter to a unit owner who complained to the state that Picerno
began following her after she tried to solicit signatures to oust him from the board late in 2013.
The
lawsuit and letters
contained virtually identical
allegations, including that the owners
had made "statements misrepresenting ... Picerno's qualifications and eligibility as a board
member ... without
any factual basis."
Two
other board members
were removed illegally, the state concluded. State investigator Carl Hecht told Picerno in a Jan. 16 email that only unit owners could vote to recall board members, so board members Dora Shvartsman and Boris Breytman
should be reinstated.
"Once again," Hecht wrote, "the Division will expect
the Association to follow the law."
Once
again, Picerno did not follow
the law. In a letter
to Breytman, Hecht wrote: "Mr.
Picerno … refused to reinstate
you to the board." Only after Picerno
stepped down, six months later, did Breytman
and Shvartsman return to the board.
Can't follow
the money
Condo owners' money can be misused
or wasted when the volunteers that serve on association boards ignore warning signs and fail to pay close attention.
Financial surprises hit De Soto Park near the end of 2013. Some board members
claimed they never approved the association's purchase
of a condo or the spending of $176,945 from its reserve
fund. The condo also exceeded
its budget for repairs and maintenance by more than $300,000.
The condo's accountant said he had tried to warn the board, but no one took action.
"I kept saying, this guy has got a debit card and he's not writing
receipts," accountant Brian
Calvarese said. "No one stepped
up to him on the board."
Calvarese told the Sun Sentinel he was so troubled by what he saw he took his concerns to Hallandale Beach Detective Chris Grieco.
Calvarese and Grieco said Picerno used association money
to pay off his and his wife's
cellphone bill. Picerno bought laptops, cellphones and a television with De Soto Park money,
Calvarese said. He spent association dollars at restaurants, grocery
stores and gas stations, Calvarese said, and used a De Soto Park debit card without showing
how he spent the money.
Calvarese said Picerno also spent money he was not authorized to touch, from the association's reserve account.
State law requires condominiums to set aside
money to pay for major repairs or future expenses.
These reserve funds may be used only to pay for those designated, down-the-line expenses, unless unit owners vote to free the money for other purchases or operating expenses.
Some
board members alleged
no such vote occurred in 2013, yet the annual
financial statements assembled by Calvarese recorded $176,945 in reserve spending.
Picerno told the Sun Sentinel
no money came from the general reserves, but records show his signature on multiple checks
from that account.
One
bought golf carts. Others went to a landscaping supply company and other businesses and individuals, their memo or subject lines
indicated.
"Nobody voted" to use that money, Calvarese said. "There was no board resolution. Nothing documented." Reserve funds were even used to purchase
a condo unit at De Soto Park.
Unit
No. 116 in Building Four cost the association $75,000.
Just over a month after the purchase,
De Soto
Park sold it for $78,500
to a company owned by a real estate agent who does business at the complex. Two months
after that, the agent's company
sold the unit for $122,000
— a profit of more than $40,000.
Picerno declined to comment on specific transactions.
"I'm not going to answer any more questions because all they're
looking for is trouble," he told the newspaper.
No action
It's
now been more than a year since
four 2013 board
members and one unit owner
filed complaints with the state
almost simultaneously in December 2013.
"Mr Picerno feels that he can spend and do as he pleases," Max Levine wrote in his complaint.
"Mr. Picerno always disregards board members and unit owners in what he decides
to do," wrote Catherine Impliazzo.
"Mr. Picerno
refuses to give us access
to the records," wrote Breytman, and "has taken money from the reserve
account without approval
of the majority of the unit owners
and board members."
Association attorney
Isaac Manzo disputed
the allegations in an April
2014 email to state regulators: "The Association completely denies all allegations in the complaints in this case and also vehemently protests the unfounded, harassing conduct of" state
regulators.
Picerno told the Sun Sentinel: "The board knew everything I was doing.
I would explain
in the office; they
knew everything that was going
on."
The final days
Picerno served as board president through
the spring and summer of 2014, even after his arrest following a brawl with a teenage condo resident.
Police sought Picerno on the night of a De Soto Park board
meeting, saying he hit and kicked the boy and tried to hit him with a metal flashlight.
The
boy had argued with Picerno
and a security guard over whether police
would be called
to the boy's apartment after a complaint that the boy had been peeping through
a window, according
to police.
The
boy suffered cuts to his forehead and lips and a broken
hand, the arrest report stated.
Police charged Picerno with assault
and battery and the guard with battery.
While awaiting trial, Picerno
continued his work for the board. In December, he pleaded no contest and adjudication was withheld.
Picerno is currently serving 12 months' probation. Now, he said, he just wants to be left alone.
"They're just mean, vindictive people," he said. "I tried to do my best to help them. All they ever did was turn everything around."
Wow!!! I have to digest this!!
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