Former State Towers property owner found guilty

May 1—SHARON — District Judge Travis P. Martwinski on Monday found State Towers' former property manager guilty of several code violations.

Out of 17 citations accusing Joseph Fusco of failing to retain a rental license to non-owner occupied units, Martwinski issued guilty verdicts in eight violations, not guilty in one, and dismissed eight citations.

Fusco and his attorney, William McConnell, said they plan on appealing the decision in the Mercer County Court of Common Pleas. If Fusco were to accept the decision, he would have to pay fines and court costs of more than $3,000.

Utility agencies shut off water and gas service April 14 at State Towers, 632 E. State St., Sharon, due to non-payment of sewer bills and because of a faulty boiler that had been leaking gas for months. About 35 people were displaced.

Fusco and State Towers' owner, Nancy Dukar, 49, of Los Angeles, Calif., were issued several citations through Sharon District Court for failing to obtain rental licenses. Dukar is facing more than $7,000 in fines. Her hearing is scheduled for May 11.

"They have placed all the blame for this situation on Joe Fusco, who's not an owner," McConnell said. "The city of Sharon probably shares some of that blame... because it doesn't appear that the city has made any effort to enforce their own ordinance."

Attorney William Madden, solicitor for the city of Sharon, argued Monday in district court that he presented overwhelming evidence proving that Fusco was the property owner of the apartment buildings and that he had been made aware of the violations several years ago up through the date of the citations in April.

Madden presented several witnesses for the city, including City Manager and fire Chief Bob Fiscus, Dr. Erin Houston, president and CEO of the Shenango Valley Urban League, city code officers Michael Garcia and John Lenkey, and several State Towers tenants.

Fiscus testified that although there was never a signed document from the owner of State Towers naming Fusco as the responsible agent, or the property manager, that Fusco presented himself as the property manager.

Several tenants testified that they paid their rent to Fusco, some producing receipts signed by Fusco. The tenants also testified that Fusco was the person they would alert for problems in their apartments. Most of the tenants testified that they believed Fusco was the landlord.

"There was no document from the owner," McConnell said. "The owner should designate a responsible party."

Garcia testified that he sat down with Fusco in 2022 and made a plan to fix the code violations. He said Fusco was well aware of the violations, but at some point stopped returning phone calls and let the plan drop.

Houston testified to Emergency Rental Assistance Program payments made to State Towers that appeared to be endorsed by Fusco.

Fusco said that he made payment arrangements with all the utilities, but that the Sharon Sewer Authority refused to make a payment arrangement. Fusco said the city elected to shut off the water instead, displacing the tenants. Fusco said he was trying to pay all the utilities but he was waiting on about $15,000 in ERAP funding that was being held back. He said that money would have been enough to pay the sewer bill.

ERAP is a federally funded COVID pandemic relief program administered by the Urban League to help renters pay rent and utilities.

In the first round of ERAP payments, State Towers was issued $120,909 last year and $84,135 in the second round this year.

McConnell said that the ERAP program was not well conceived because it incentivised people not paying rent.

"When you own a rental building it's all about the cash flow and people know they're not going to have to pay rent because the government will pay the arrears," McConnell said. "There's well over a year where money wasn't coming in. It shouldn't surprise anyone if the rent is not being paid and that some of these bills are way behind."

McConnell said he will argue in Common Pleas Court that the city did not comply with or enforce its own ordinance.

"They've painted Joe Fusco as the poster boy. They've had their press conference. Where's the scrutiny of the city on this?" McConnell said. "I respect the judge in this situation, but they didn't comply with their own ordinance and they didn't enforce it. We're hoping that in the Court of Common Pleas, that they take another look at the ordinance and we'll see how we do."

Fiscus said finding Fusco guilty is one positive step forward in the situation.

"I'm thankful to see some justice for the residents even though it doesn't ease any of the pain they're feeling," Fiscus said. "It's likely just one step in the process as we evaluate what lessons can be learned and what can be done differently to ensure this doesn't happen again."

Follow Melissa Klaric on twitter @HeraldKlaric or email her at mklaric@sharonherald.com