Landlord accused of renting out condemned house
MANSFIELD – The Mansfield City Law Director’s Office will consider filing charges against a local landlord accused of renting a condemned property filled with mold to several residents.
A 24-year-old man and an 18-year-old woman told police they had been paying rent to William Spognardi while living at 320 S. Diamond St. — a property records from the Mansfield Bureau of Building & Codes indicated was condemned on Aug. 16, 2011.
The two presented paperwork obtained from the building and codes department to police Thursday afternoon. A Mansfield police officer contacted Building & Codes Department Manager/Electrical Safety Inspector Gaylord Rice about the complaint.
Rice told police he had spoken to the man and woman about the house and told them it was not to be occupied or lived in because it fails to meet minimum sanitation standards, according to a Mansfield Police Department report.
Rice said he had spoken to Spognardi and told him he was to have the residence inspected to determine if the sanitation issues had been resolved.
According to the report, Rice said Spognardi never scheduled an inspection date.
Rice requested charges be pursued against Spognardi, according to the policer report.
Calls seeking comment from Spognardi were not returned.
Mansfield police Sgt. Chad Brubaker said that as of Friday evening, no determination on charges has been made against Spognardi.
“Seems like here lately, we’ve been having some tenants living in condemned houses,” Brubaker said. “We’re working with the building and permits department to help get those residents out of those houses.”
Representatives from Richland Public Health and the Mansfield Building and Codes Department visited the house at 320 S. Diamond St. in 2011, according to a letter issued to Spognardi on Aug. 9, 2011.
Inspectors found what appeared to be mold growth on the ceiling tile walls, furniture, clothing, kitchen cabinets and in other places. They also found rain water runoff from the residence is draining directly into the walls of the downstairs unit.
One of the tenants at the time, a pregnant woman, showed inspectors a letter from her OB/GYN specifically stating that she should seek residence elsewhere in fear that potential respiratory problems could cause complications in her pregnancy.
It is unclear whether the pregnant woman still lives in the residence.
The 320 S. Diamond St. house was condemned a week later on Aug. 16, 2011.
“(The) property has a serious mold situation due to a constant damp condition creating a serious health condition, poor ventilation and insect infestation,” according to a 2011 letter to Spognardi from the Mansfield Bureau of Building Inspections, Licenses and Permits.
Spognardi was given 30 days to correct the problems listed in the notice. No documents in Spognardi’s file kept by the Mansfield City Codes and Permits Department indicate corrections have been made.
There have been four notices of violation from the Mansfield Bureau of Building Inspections, Licenses and Permits in the file for the 320 S. Diamond St. property. All notices were filed against the same landlord.
A July 27, 2011, notice indicated Spognardi had been charged with a housing violation.
Spognardi had been charged with a violation for junk accumulation on three separate occasions — once on Aug. 2, 2011, another on Feb. 27, 2012 and a final one on April 12, 2012.
Spognardi has a lengthy criminal history with the Mansfield Police Department, including an arrest for menacing in November 2011, a theft offense in 2014 and criminal trespassing charges filed against him in 2009.
The menacing arrest in 2009 was later ruled nolle prosequi as prosecutors received evidence that a witness in the case fabricated the allegations against Spognardi, court records show.
Spognardi owns 31 properties in Richland County, according to records from the Richland County Auditor’s Office.
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