New York Man Stays Free in Hotel, Then Claims to Own It
2024-02-22
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1For five years, a New York City man lived for free in a famous central New York City hotel.
2He made use of a little-known housing rule to avoid paying.
3But government lawyers recently said Mickey Barreto went too far.
4He turned in paperwork claiming ownership of the whole New Yorker Hotel building.
5And he also tried to have another person pay him for living there.
6Last week, Barreto was arrested and charged with turning in false property records, a criminal offense.
7The 48-year-old man says he was surprised when police showed up at his boyfriend's apartment with guns and protective gear.
8"I said, 'Oh, I thought you were doing something for Valentine's Day to spice up the relationship until I saw the female officers,'" Barreto recalled telling his boyfriend.
9Valentine's Day is a holiday where people celebrate love.
10The charges against Barreto came after years of legal battles.
11They began when he and his boyfriend paid about $200 to stay in one of the more than 1,000 rooms in the hotel built in 1930.
12Barreto says he had just moved to New York from Los Angeles, California when his boyfriend told him about a little-known part of housing law that permits people who stay in single rooms in buildings built before 1969 to demand a six-month contract.
13Barreto claimed that because he had paid for a night in the hotel, he was counted as a tenant.
14He asked for a contract to stay and the hotel immediately had him leave.
15Barreto said he went to court the next day and the judge denied him.
16But he said, "I appealed to the (state) Supreme Court and I won the appeal."
17But he added that at an important point in the case, lawyers for the building's owners did not show up, which permitted him to win by default.
18The judge ordered the hotel to give Barreto a key.
19He said he lived there until July 2023 without paying for his room because the building's owners did not want to work out a contract with him.
20But they could not ask him to leave.
21New York City prosecutors agree that the housing court gave Barreto "possession" of his room.
22But they say he did not stop there.
23In 2019, he put false paperwork on a city website claiming that the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity had turned over the ownership of the entire building to him.
24The organization bought the property in 1976.
25The church was founded in South Korea by the late Rev. Sun Myung Moon.
26Barreto then tried to charge different groups as the owner of the building.
27The prosecutor's office said they include demanding payments from one of the hotel's tenants and demanding the hotel put its bank accounts in his name.
28The Unification Church took Barreto to court in 2019 over the building's ownership claim.
29The case is ongoing, but a judge ruled that Barreto cannot present himself as the owner in the meantime.
30A Unification Church spokesperson did not comment on his arrest as there is an ongoing civil case.
31In that case, Barreto argued that the judge who gave him "possession" of his room indirectly gave him the entire building because it had never been subdivided.
32"I never intended to commit any fraud. I don't believe I ever committed any fraud," Barreto said.
33He said he never made any money out of this.
34Barreto said he aims to deny profits to the Unification Church.
35The church, known for holding large weddings, has been accused of misleading people to gain members and criticized by some over its friendly relationship with North Korea, where Moon was born.
36Barreto said he has never paid for a lawyer and has always represented himself in civil cases.
37Last week, he secured criminal defense legal representation.
38I'm Gregory Stachel.
1For five years, a New York City man lived for free in a famous central New York City hotel. He made use of a little-known housing rule to avoid paying. 2But government lawyers recently said Mickey Barreto went too far. He turned in paperwork claiming ownership of the whole New Yorker Hotel building. And he also tried to have another person pay him for living there. 3Last week, Barreto was arrested and charged with turning in false property records, a criminal offense. The 48-year-old man says he was surprised when police showed up at his boyfriend's apartment with guns and protective gear. 4"I said, 'Oh, I thought you were doing something for Valentine's Day to spice up the relationship until I saw the female officers,'" Barreto recalled telling his boyfriend. Valentine's Day is a holiday where people celebrate love. 5The charges against Barreto came after years of legal battles. They began when he and his boyfriend paid about $200 to stay in one of the more than 1,000 rooms in the hotel built in 1930. 6Barreto says he had just moved to New York from Los Angeles, California when his boyfriend told him about a little-known part of housing law that permits people who stay in single rooms in buildings built before 1969 to demand a six-month contract. 7Barreto claimed that because he had paid for a night in the hotel, he was counted as a tenant. He asked for a contract to stay and the hotel immediately had him leave. 8Barreto said he went to court the next day and the judge denied him. But he said, "I appealed to the (state) Supreme Court and I won the appeal." But he added that at an important point in the case, lawyers for the building's owners did not show up, which permitted him to win by default. 9The judge ordered the hotel to give Barreto a key. He said he lived there until July 2023 without paying for his room because the building's owners did not want to work out a contract with him. But they could not ask him to leave. 10New York City prosecutors agree that the housing court gave Barreto "possession" of his room. But they say he did not stop there. 11In 2019, he put false paperwork on a city website claiming that the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity had turned over the ownership of the entire building to him. The organization bought the property in 1976. The church was founded in South Korea by the late Rev. Sun Myung Moon. 12Barreto then tried to charge different groups as the owner of the building. The prosecutor's office said they include demanding payments from one of the hotel's tenants and demanding the hotel put its bank accounts in his name. 13The Unification Church took Barreto to court in 2019 over the building's ownership claim. The case is ongoing, but a judge ruled that Barreto cannot present himself as the owner in the meantime. 14A Unification Church spokesperson did not comment on his arrest as there is an ongoing civil case. 15In that case, Barreto argued that the judge who gave him "possession" of his room indirectly gave him the entire building because it had never been subdivided. 16"I never intended to commit any fraud. I don't believe I ever committed any fraud," Barreto said. He said he never made any money out of this. 17Barreto said he aims to deny profits to the Unification Church. The church, known for holding large weddings, has been accused of misleading people to gain members and criticized by some over its friendly relationship with North Korea, where Moon was born. 18Barreto said he has never paid for a lawyer and has always represented himself in civil cases. Last week, he secured criminal defense legal representation. 19I'm Gregory Stachel. 20Cedar Attanasio reported this story for The Associated Press. Gregory Stachel adapted it for VOA Learning English. 21______________________________________________ 22Words in This Story 23Apartment - n. a usually rented room or set of rooms that is part of a building and is used as a place to live 24prosecutor - n. a lawyer who represents the side in a court case that accuses a person of a crime and who tries to prove that the person is guilty 25spice - v. to add interest or excitement to (something) 26fraud - n. the crime of using dishonest methods to take something valuable from another person 27tenant - n. a person, business, or group that pays to use another person's property: someone who rents or leases a house, apartment, etc., from a landlord 28default - n. used to describe something that happens or is done when nothing else has been done or can be done 29intend - v. to plan or want to do (something) 30commit - v. to do (something that is illegal or harmful)