Deed transfer theft in New York City

Horror story in Queens points up flaws of the city’s deed-transfer system, and also of its pro-tenant housing court regime: “After Darrell Beatty failed to appear in August, a judge approved an eviction, but it was stayed last week when Beatty claimed he had health problems.” [New York Post]

3 Comments

  • I’m very confused, maybe someone here can help me.

    Why would you have to go through the eviction process for someone who was never a legitimate tenant in the first place? And why wasn’t this criminal charged with vandalism or destruction of property too?

  • Turns out there is an update: The squatter was arrested three days after this article came out: http://nypost.com/2014/10/15/ex-con-arrested-for-filing-fake-deed-to-steal-womans-home/

  • The arrest is certainly a step in the right direction, but I gather from the article that the thief’s bum relatives are still squatting in the home. He should certainly not be released on bail until the home is restored to its owner.