It could have been prevented in the first place.<\/p>\n
That’s what some county leaders in Queens are saying after two accused squatters took over a home in Bayside. They were arrested<\/a> three weeks after a 7 On Your Side Investigation<\/a>.<\/p>\n There’s a law in place to help safeguard homes, one that county leaders said wasn’t followed.<\/p>\n When Richard Klibschon died back in 2018, he didn’t have a spouse, children or immediate heirs so his million-dollar home sat empty.<\/p>\n “Nobody told us,” said Gerard Sweeney, an attorney for the Queen’s public administrator.<\/p>\n It’s the office that works behind the scenes to handle and protect estates when there’s no one else to do it.<\/p>\n “If they notified us, we would be able to act, but they don’t notify us,” Sweeney said.<\/p>\n He said there’s a city law that should have been triggered back in 2018 that requires a death to be reported to the public administrator when there aren’t any immediate heirs.<\/p>\n In Klibschon’s case, a “cousin” was listed on his death certificate.<\/p>\n “Hospitals and the funeral directors, they’re supposed to notify the public administrator whenever they have a person who’s burying the person who’s a cousin or more removed,” Sweeney said.<\/p>\n He said the banks involved with Klibschon’s mortgage also did not notify the public administrator.<\/p>\n In April, concerned neighbors sent a signed petition to their local congressman pleading for help, who then helped get a public administrator appointed to the estate.<\/p>\n “The public administrator was responsible for this house, so we had to get them involved,” Representative Tom Suozzi said.<\/p>\n The public administrator then started to take legal action to get the alleged squatters, Vernon Glass and Lusascha Taylor, evicted. But before the months-long process could play out, neighbors called 7 On Your Side.<\/p>\n The Queen’s district attorney then launched her own investigation into the couple, and less than three weeks after the 7 On Your Side Investigation<\/a> aired, the couple was arrested.<\/p>\n “They did not have a legal right to be there,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said.<\/p>\n Glass and Taylor are now facing felony charges and were ordered not to return to the property. They’ve both pleaded not guilty.<\/p>\n ———- You can also contact Dan Krauth<\/a> directly: <\/p>\n Email your questions, issues, or story ideas to 7OnYourSideDan@abc.com <\/p>\n Facebook: DanKrauthReports<\/a> <\/p>\n Twitter: @ DanKrauthABC7 <\/a><\/p>\n Instagram: @DanKrauth<\/a><\/p>\n
DO YOU NEED A STORY INVESTIGATED? Dan Krauth, and the 7 On Your Side Investigates team at Eyewitness News want to hear from you! Call our confidential tip line 1-877-TIP-NEWS (847-6397) or fill out the form BELOW.<\/p>\n