Slumlord of Rogers Park gets 9 Years

"Kakvand bought 33 apartment buildings in Rogers Park and on Chicago's South Side between 1997 and 2004, but didn't renovate them. Units were sold as rehabbed condos at inflated prices, using straw buyers who defaulted on $29 million in loans. The plot displaced renters, and left decaying buildings prone to squatters, drug dealers, fire and water damage".

"Also charged were Syed Ali Mohammed Razvi, a fugitive, and real estate appraisers Thomas M. Groh, Eric L. Dorsey and Britt J. Pierre, who earlier pled guilty".

"Haggerty said Kakvand's continuing legacy is the reduction in the amount of affordable rental housing in Rogers Park, and the artificial inflation of area home prices".

"Rogers Park was always one of the most affordable communities," Haggerty said. "I don't think it is anymore."

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Tags: 49th Ward, 60626, 60645, Britt J. Pierre, Eric L. Dorsey, Mohammad "Mike" Taghie Kakvand, mortgage scheme, real estate, Rogers Park, slumlord, Syed Ali Mohammed Razvi, Thomas M. Groh

Apartment Decay Continues

Rogers Park slumlord continues to insist that it will fix itself when it dries.

The Toxicity of Lead Paint:

Although lead improves paint performance, it is a dangerous substance. It is especially damaging to children under age six whose bodies are still developing.

Lead causes nervous system damage, hearing loss, stunted growth, reduced IQ, and delayed development. It can cause kidney damage and affects every organ system of the body. It also is dangerous to adults, and can cause reproductive problems in adult men.

One myth related to lead-based paint is that the most common cause of poisoning was eating leaded paint chips. In fact, the most common pathway of childhood lead exposure is through ingestion of lead dust through normal hand-to-mouth contact during which children swallow lead dust dislodged from deteriorated paint or leaded dust generated during remodeling or painting. Lead dust from remodeling or deteriorated paint lands on the floor near where children play and can ingest it. -Wikipedia

Tags: 49th Ward, 60626, crumbling walls, Rogers Park, slumlord, water damage