The dehumanization of David Adier, causes me to explode in instant
rage. The frustration of knowing that David Adier story, and so many
others, will never be known to the vast majority of Americans. The
owners of our mass media will make certain of this. Added to this
article are the accounts of those people ten years ago who lost
everything they owned during hurricane Katrina, and were cheated out
of their insurances by the very companies they had trusted to protect
their property.
Why is it that when a robber sticks a gun in your back and says, "your
money or your life", he is considered to be a criminal, while the bank
or insurance company which makes off with your home or your premiums,
is considered a "Pillar of the Community"?
The answer ought to be obvious to everyone. The banks and Wall Street
companies make the laws. They make laws and rules that protect their
interests. And they own the police whom they charge with protecting
their laws.
The crazy part is that the Working Class folks seem to never figure
this out. The Working Class has been so dummied down that they seldom
question whose laws are controlling their lives. But then, isn't that
what happens after years of constant hammering by the propaganda
machine of the Ruling Class?
I tried talking to a friend about the insurance robbery that went
unpunished in New Orleans. He said, "Wow! That's horrid! Hey, I
gotta go, the Sea Hawks are coming on in five minutes."
Carl Jarvis
On 8/30/15, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Dayen writes: "The few remaining defenders of the Obama administration's
failure to prosecute the executives who helped cause the 2008 financial
crisis argue that the bankers' actions were unethical but not criminal."
Well Fargo building. (photo: David Adier)
When the Bank Robs You: Wells Fargo Contractors Allegedly Stole Family
Heirlooms Rescued From Nazis
By David Dayen, The Intercept
29 August 15 H
The few remaining defenders of the Obama administration's failure to
prosecute the executives who helped cause the 2008 financial crisis argue
that the bankers' actions were unethical but not criminal. President Obama
himself has made this claim: "Some of the most damaging behavior on Wall
Street . wasn't illegal," he told Steve Kroft on 60 Minutes in December
2011.
The president might want to take this up with David Adier, who says he was
victimized by Wells Fargo breaking and entering into his family's home in
Morris Township, New Jersey, and then committing property damage and theft.
Burglary is a felony subject to prison time - if anybody but a bank does
it.
Adier's case is doubly disturbing because of what was taken: items his
father retrieved from his family's apartment in France before fleeing the
Nazis in 1940, including a Kiddush cup, a Seder plate and a sewing machine
used by his grandmother.
Adier has since filed suit against Wells Fargo. According to the complaint,
Wells Fargo's contractors deemed the house abandoned, despite explicit
instructions that it was not. The house had been in Adier's family for 40
years, Adier and his sister had grown up there, and Adier's father had
lived
there until his death in August 2012. According to Adier, who lives 30
miles
away in Bayonne, he missed two payments on the home's mortgage over the
next
several months due to troubles with his small business. On November 29,
2012, Wells Fargo's contractors illegally broke in for the first time.
"I feel like they ripped my family history from me," said Adier. "This was
the house I grew up in, where I had nothing but great family memories.
They've taken away my life, my childhood, my sense of security."
Adier is not alone. Since the beginning of the foreclosure crisis in 2007,
banks have hired contractors to inspect properties in foreclosure and
determine whether they are abandoned. If they make that subjective
determination - based on overgrown grass, or a broken window - they are
authorized to enter the home, change the locks, and "trash-out" the
property
by removing all belongings.
Banks claim they must secure abandoned properties to protect their
investment and fulfill responsibilities under state laws. But the
contractors frequently get things wrong, illegally ransacking properties
still inhabited by homeowners, spurring hundreds of lawsuits. "It's
happening at exactly the same rate" now as during the previous seven years,
argues Adier's attorney, Josh Denbeaux.
Homeowners have been complaining for years about coming home to find that
their keys no longer work. Contractors took the remains of Mimi Ash's late
husband. They took Angela Iannelli's pet parrot, Luke. They took the
American flag off a house belonging to Rick and Sherry Rought, who had
bought it entirely in cash from Deutsche Bank after the bank had foreclosed
on its previous owners. Nilly Mauck's condo was trashed because contractors
mixed up the number of the property they were supposed to inspect. Nancy
Jacobini's home was broken into while she sat on her couch; she locked
herself in the bathroom and called 911. A year later, the same contractor
broke in again.
"I've got this client, they are away from their home," said Matt Weidner, a
foreclosure defense attorney in St. Petersburg, Florida. "They come home to
find a dude in there hacking their goddamn house apart. There's a hammer
sitting in the wall, like they said fuck it, we're done for the day, we'll
just shove this in here." The partially demolished home has sat that way
for
three years, amid litigation.
Denbeaux blames the business model. According to contracts he has acquired
in discovery, banks pay contractors a small fee to do the drive-by
inspection, but several hundred dollars to padlock the doors, and hundreds
more for a trash-out. "Whether they do a lock-out or a trash-out is based
on
a report by day laborers," Denbeaux said. "They know how to say the
property
is abandoned and make money."
"I've had cases in which people had summer homes ransacked because they
were
'abandoned' in January," Denbeaux continued. "Have you tried surfing on the
Jersey shore in January?"
Adier believes this kind of calculation led to the trash-out of his
family's
home. David's father, Henri Adier, escaped occupied France in 1940. The
Nazis had sealed off apartments belonging to Jewish residents, and Henri
and
his family snuck back in to retrieve items of personal significance. "They
made pains to keep the seal on," David said. "They took what they could get
and fled into the night."
Henri Adier eventually took those heirlooms to Morris Township after World
War II, where he got married and taught French to students at Morristown
High School. Later in life, David's mother contracted diabetes and Henri
contracted Parkinson's disease. David cared for his parents for 15 years,
with his father finally passing away in August 2012.
The mortgage on the house was current at the time of Henri Adier's death,
and David was the executor of the estate. His business was significantly
damaged during Hurricane Sandy at the end of October 2012, making it
difficult for him to catch up on the two payments then in arrears.
Soon afterward, David's sister found stickers on the property from the
mortgage services company LPS, saying that inspectors believed the house to
be abandoned, and if they didn't hear from the residents they would
"protect
their interest in the property."
According to the Adier lawsuit, David's sister called LPS and received
assurances that nobody would take action. Nevertheless, LPS broke into the
house on November 29, 2012, changed the locks and "winterized" the
property.
"I was shocked to find out they had ransacked the property," David said.
"They opened every cabinet, every box and helped themselves to whatever
they
wanted." They even stole the brass door-knocker on the front of the house,
David alleged, along with the relics his father had spirited out of France.
The damage ruined any chance to rent out the property and generate income.
During this period, when David contacted Wells Fargo, he was told he "was
not the person on the deed." According to David, Wells Fargo asked for the
death certificate, then paperwork affirming that he was the executor of the
estate. He didn't get the right to talk to the bank until March 2013.
Tom Goyda, a spokesperson for Wells Fargo, claims that "the home was
unlocked and in disarray" when contractors came to secure it. He added that
Wells Fargo was unaware of any items removed from the home until mid-2014.
Under New Jersey law, mortgage companies are responsible for securing
abandoned properties and can be held liable for code violations. Goyda said
contractors performed exterior maintenance on the property to keep it to
code. "While we hold our property preservation vendors and our own team
members to high standards of honesty and integrity, and we take any claims
like those being made in this case very seriously, we have found nothing to
support the allegations made in the lawsuit."
Adier countered that the house was not even in foreclosure when contractors
first broke in - in fact, the foreclosure process did not begin until March
2013 and is still not complete. Even if a property is in foreclosure,
without a court order banks do not have the right to enter if they are
informed it is not abandoned. "They either need to own the property as a
result of a sale, or they need a judge to say, even though this is not your
property, you can go in," said Denbeaux, Adier's lawyer. "Wells Fargo never
sought a court order in this case."
Last year, the inspector general for the Federal Housing Finance Agency
accused contractors of routinely disregarding signs of habitation and
illegally breaking into homes. The inspector general called the practice of
property preservation "largely unregulated" and riddled with fraud. The
banking industry responded by promising stronger background checks of
contractors. But the complaints have continued.
Neighbors informed the Adiers each time contractors were on the property.
Morris Township police refused to investigate, calling it a "civil matter."
After years of what David Adier called a "cat-and-mouse game," he filed
suit
in New Jersey Superior Court last month, seeking compensation for
trespassing and negligence.
"It was a complete and utter violation," David Adier said. "I devoted 15
years of my life dealing with my parents' health needs. I thought I'd be
able to get some peace. I've had no peace."
Error! Hyperlink reference not valid. Error! Hyperlink reference not
valid.
Well Fargo building. (photo: David Adier)
https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2015/08/28/wells-fargo-contractors-stole-
family-heirlooms/https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2015/08/28/wells-fargo-c
ontractors-stole-family-heirlooms/
When the Bank Robs You: Wells Fargo Contractors Allegedly Stole Family
Heirlooms Rescued From Nazis
By David Dayen, The Intercept
29 August 15
he few remaining defenders of the Obama administration's failure to
prosecute the executives who helped cause the 2008 financial crisis argue
that the bankers' actions were unethical but not criminal. President Obama
himself has made this claim: "Some of the most damaging behavior on Wall
Street . wasn't illegal," he told Steve Kroft on 60 Minutes in December
2011.
The president might want to take this up with David Adier, who says he was
victimized by Wells Fargo breaking and entering into his family's home in
Morris Township, New Jersey, and then committing property damage and theft.
Burglary is a felony subject to prison time - if anybody but a bank does
it.
Adier's case is doubly disturbing because of what was taken: items his
father retrieved from his family's apartment in France before fleeing the
Nazis in 1940, including a Kiddush cup, a Seder plate and a sewing machine
used by his grandmother.
Adier has since filed suit against Wells Fargo. According to the complaint,
Wells Fargo's contractors deemed the house abandoned, despite explicit
instructions that it was not. The house had been in Adier's family for 40
years, Adier and his sister had grown up there, and Adier's father had
lived
there until his death in August 2012. According to Adier, who lives 30
miles
away in Bayonne, he missed two payments on the home's mortgage over the
next
several months due to troubles with his small business. On November 29,
2012, Wells Fargo's contractors illegally broke in for the first time.
"I feel like they ripped my family history from me," said Adier. "This was
the house I grew up in, where I had nothing but great family memories.
They've taken away my life, my childhood, my sense of security."
Adier is not alone. Since the beginning of the foreclosure crisis in 2007,
banks have hired contractors to inspect properties in foreclosure and
determine whether they are abandoned. If they make that subjective
determination - based on overgrown grass, or a broken window - they are
authorized to enter the home, change the locks, and "trash-out" the
property
by removing all belongings.
Banks claim they must secure abandoned properties to protect their
investment and fulfill responsibilities under state laws. But the
contractors frequently get things wrong, illegally ransacking properties
still inhabited by homeowners, spurring hundreds of lawsuits. "It's
happening at exactly the same rate" now as during the previous seven years,
argues Adier's attorney, Josh Denbeaux.
Homeowners have been complaining for years about coming home to find that
their keys no longer work. Contractors took the remains of Mimi Ash's late
husband. They took Angela Iannelli's pet parrot, Luke. They took the
American flag off a house belonging to Rick and Sherry Rought, who had
bought it entirely in cash from Deutsche Bank after the bank had foreclosed
on its previous owners. Nilly Mauck's condo was trashed because contractors
mixed up the number of the property they were supposed to inspect. Nancy
Jacobini's home was broken into while she sat on her couch; she locked
herself in the bathroom and called 911. A year later, the same contractor
broke in again.
"I've got this client, they are away from their home," said Matt Weidner, a
foreclosure defense attorney in St. Petersburg, Florida. "They come home to
find a dude in there hacking their goddamn house apart. There's a hammer
sitting in the wall, like they said fuck it, we're done for the day, we'll
just shove this in here." The partially demolished home has sat that way
for
three years, amid litigation.
Denbeaux blames the business model. According to contracts he has acquired
in discovery, banks pay contractors a small fee to do the drive-by
inspection, but several hundred dollars to padlock the doors, and hundreds
more for a trash-out. "Whether they do a lock-out or a trash-out is based
on
a report by day laborers," Denbeaux said. "They know how to say the
property
is abandoned and make money."
"I've had cases in which people had summer homes ransacked because they
were
'abandoned' in January," Denbeaux continued. "Have you tried surfing on the
Jersey shore in January?"
Adier believes this kind of calculation led to the trash-out of his
family's
home. David's father, Henri Adier, escaped occupied France in 1940. The
Nazis had sealed off apartments belonging to Jewish residents, and Henri
and
his family snuck back in to retrieve items of personal significance. "They
made pains to keep the seal on," David said. "They took what they could get
and fled into the night."
Henri Adier eventually took those heirlooms to Morris Township after World
War II, where he got married and taught French to students at Morristown
High School. Later in life, David's mother contracted diabetes and Henri
contracted Parkinson's disease. David cared for his parents for 15 years,
with his father finally passing away in August 2012.
The mortgage on the house was current at the time of Henri Adier's death,
and David was the executor of the estate. His business was significantly
damaged during Hurricane Sandy at the end of October 2012, making it
difficult for him to catch up on the two payments then in arrears.
Soon afterward, David's sister found stickers on the property from the
mortgage services company LPS, saying that inspectors believed the house to
be abandoned, and if they didn't hear from the residents they would
"protect
their interest in the property."
According to the Adier lawsuit, David's sister called LPS and received
assurances that nobody would take action. Nevertheless, LPS broke into the
house on November 29, 2012, changed the locks and "winterized" the
property.
"I was shocked to find out they had ransacked the property," David said.
"They opened every cabinet, every box and helped themselves to whatever
they
wanted." They even stole the brass door-knocker on the front of the house,
David alleged, along with the relics his father had spirited out of France.
The damage ruined any chance to rent out the property and generate income.
During this period, when David contacted Wells Fargo, he was told he "was
not the person on the deed." According to David, Wells Fargo asked for the
death certificate, then paperwork affirming that he was the executor of the
estate. He didn't get the right to talk to the bank until March 2013.
Tom Goyda, a spokesperson for Wells Fargo, claims that "the home was
unlocked and in disarray" when contractors came to secure it. He added that
Wells Fargo was unaware of any items removed from the home until mid-2014.
Under New Jersey law, mortgage companies are responsible for securing
abandoned properties and can be held liable for code violations. Goyda said
contractors performed exterior maintenance on the property to keep it to
code. "While we hold our property preservation vendors and our own team
members to high standards of honesty and integrity, and we take any claims
like those being made in this case very seriously, we have found nothing to
support the allegations made in the lawsuit."
Adier countered that the house was not even in foreclosure when contractors
first broke in - in fact, the foreclosure process did not begin until March
2013 and is still not complete. Even if a property is in foreclosure,
without a court order banks do not have the right to enter if they are
informed it is not abandoned. "They either need to own the property as a
result of a sale, or they need a judge to say, even though this is not your
property, you can go in," said Denbeaux, Adier's lawyer. "Wells Fargo never
sought a court order in this case."
Last year, the inspector general for the Federal Housing Finance Agency
accused contractors of routinely disregarding signs of habitation and
illegally breaking into homes. The inspector general called the practice of
property preservation "largely unregulated" and riddled with fraud. The
banking industry responded by promising stronger background checks of
contractors. But the complaints have continued.
Neighbors informed the Adiers each time contractors were on the property.
Morris Township police refused to investigate, calling it a "civil matter."
After years of what David Adier called a "cat-and-mouse game," he filed
suit
in New Jersey Superior Court last month, seeking compensation for
trespassing and negligence.
"It was a complete and utter violation," David Adier said. "I devoted 15
years of my life dealing with my parents' health needs. I thought I'd be
able to get some peace. I've had no peace."
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http://e-max.it/posizionamento-siti-web/socialize
