Hearing for owners of collapsed building continued
Mark Russo, the owner of the building that collapsed on North Main Street in Washington earlier this month, arrives Tuesday for a court appearance with his attorney, Elizabeth Tarasi.
Mark Russo, co-owner of the building that collapsed earlier this month on North Main Street in Washington, arrives for a hearing scheduled Tuesday before District Judge Robert Redlinger. The hearing was continued.
Demolition workers remove bricks by hand Tuesday at the building that collapsed at 15 N. Main St. in Washington.
A district judge continued the trial of two building owners who face citations related to conditions at the downtown Washington apartment building whose partial collapse trapped a tenant for more than nine hours earlier this month.
Mark Russo, 41, of Washington appeared before District Judge Robert Redlinger Tuesday afternoon for a summary trial on eight building citations city officials filed before and after the July 12 collapse of the three-story dwelling at 15 N. Main St. – known as the “Montgomery Building” – he owns with his sister, Melissa, who also was named as a defendant but lives in Colorado and did not attend the proceeding.
After a sidebar discussion with Redlinger and attorney Elizabeth Tarasi, who represents the Russos, city solicitor Steve Toprani said both attorneys were asking for a delay. Redlinger rescheduled the trial for Aug. 24.
“Of course, this happened in real time, there’s investigations that are ongoing, not only by the city and other officials, but by the insurance companies and other parties involved,” Toprani said following the hearing. “So we wanted to make sure that we weren’t rushing into court today, that we had ample time to work through those issues.”
He added he was “hopeful that we’ll be able to work out some type of resolution that benefits the city.”
Mark Russo said “no comment” as he left the courtroom with his mother, Loretta, and Tarasi, but he did give one-word answers to a few questions from reporters, including to say he “absolutely” felt bad for those affected by the collapse.
His mother denied allegations that maintenance was not performed at the building.
“We have records with all that,” she said. “That’s not true.”
The city filed a citation March 20 alleging the Russos “failed to replace failing wall cracked NOT structurally sound.” Officials added six others last week, mostly related to the collapse and allegedly unsafe conditions.
Mayor Scott Putnam said Tuesday contractors were continuing to remove portions of the roof of the Montgomery Building, with the goal of eventually removing the wall adjacent to the former VIP Lounge at 19 N. Main.
On Monday, members of city council, the police and fire departments and code enforcement officers inspected several buildings at various locations in the city as they followed up on complaints. The mayor stressed the city is not targeting specific landlords.
Putnam, who also attended the proceeding Tuesday, couldn’t provide an exact figure for the costs related to the collapse but said demolition could reach $500,000, which does not include overtime pay and additional building inspections.
Putnam said the city is “going after state funds, local funds, obviously Mr. Russo’s funds so that the city does not have to shoulder this financial burden.”
Business editor Michael Bradwell contributed to this report.