N.J. town files lawsuit against Imam Rauf

[chanel]

A lawsuit filed by Union City charges that the landlord of two apartment buildings has repeatedly failed to address complaints by tenants and orders by the city on issues ranging from moldy bathrooms to fire hazards.

Landlord-tenant disputes are nothing new, even those with municipalities entering the fray. Except in this case, city officials say the landlord is Feisal Abdul Rauf, the imam behind the controversial proposal to develop an Islamic cultural center and mosque near Ground Zero.

"From 1996 to 2010, the city responded to no less than thirty complaints from tenants predicated upon various health and safety concerns, including lack of heat, mold inside apartments, garbage issues, bed bugs, foul odors, dirty hallways and the lack of utilities/heat," the lawsuit states.

Last week, The Record reported that Rauf received more than $2 million in public money to renovate low-income apartments he owns in Hudson County, including those mentioned in today’s lawsuit, after winning support for the projects from officials, including the disgraced former County Executive Robert C. Janiszewski, and U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, who was mayor of Union City at the time.

The Record also reported that Rauf had ties to local waterfront developer Fred Daibes, and was sued by a Daibes associate who had charged the imam with mortgage fraud in 2008, a suit that was settled in June.

N.J. town files lawsuit against imam behind controversial mosque near Ground Zero | NJ.com

Interesting. I'd be curious to see if he gets the same treatment as other slum lords who steal public money for their projects.