Judge Sentences Landlord to 300 Days in County Jail

ANAHEIM — In what city officials call the toughest punishment ever meted out to a slumlord in Anaheim, Amrit Bhandhari was sentenced Thursday to 300 days in Orange County Jail.

In issuing the sentence, Fullerton Municipal Court Judge Richard E. Behn said that Bhandhari allowed mice and cockroaches to infest some of the 10 buildings he owns or manages in Anaheim, collected rents at the crumbling, trash-strewn properties, then clumsily covered up his management of the buildings in violation of the terms of his probation.

Bhandhari had pleaded guilty in 1993 to a misdemeanor violation of city codes that prohibit overgrown vegetation and inadequate plumbing at buildings in the city. Under terms of his probation, Bhandhari was not allowed to enter any rental properties he owned in Anaheim and was required to maintain the properties in accordance with city codes.

But Behn found that Bhandhari adopted fictitious names and engaged in other kinds of subterfuge to continue managing the Anaheim apartments, collecting rents while allowing staircases and ceilings to crumble and broken windows to go unrepaired.

Behn ordered Bhandhari, who lives in a four-bedroom home in Irvine, to report to jail Sept. 18.

“He’s the most notorious slumlord in Anaheim--I think this was well deserved,” senior assistant city attorney Mark Logan said.

“This is obviously someone who’s a repeat offender. These violations are very significant violations; they go to the quality of life in those areas. The true victims are the people who live there and who are often victimized by slumlords.”

Neither Bhandhari nor his counsel, Anaheim attorney Dennis P. O’Connell, was available late Thursday afternoon for comment.

The landlord, whose buildings dot the poorest areas of Anaheim, has been convicted of violating Anaheim city codes five times since 1989 and of violating probation nine times. But he has never served more than 30 days in jail.

“Most landlords correct the problems after the first time they are caught at it, or they get out of the business, but Bhandhari just seems to ignore the warnings,” said John Poole, code enforcement manager for the city. “He has been an ongoing problem. He has consistently been one of the worst offenders.”