A Latest Jersey landlord has been hit with greater than three dozen sex charges for demanding sexual favors from 30 low-income tenants in exchange for housing help, prosecutors said.
Joseph Centanni, 75, of Mountainside was charged last week in a 42-count indictment that features 23 counts of second-degree sexual assault and 19 counts of fourth-degree criminal sexual contact, in keeping with the Union County Prosecutor’s Office on Wednesday.
Centanni owned 18 low-income residential rental properties in town of Elizabeth — each starting from 4 to 100 units.
The creepy landlord allegedly bribed men and ladies ages 22 to 61 to interact in unwanted sexual favors between 2013 and 2020.
“The defendant allegedly solicited the sex acts from his victims as a quid pro quo, agreeing to supply them rent reductions, a delay in an eviction, or other forms of monetary assistance in exchange,” the statement said.
“He also purportedly threatened tenants who hesitated or refused his advances with eviction or other retaliatory measures.”
Centanni was arrested in June 2021 but stays free on court-ordered pretrial monitoring pending the final result of his case.
A yr ago, the Justice Department announced that Centanni agreed to pay an enormous $4.5 million to resolve a Fair Housing Act lawsuit that looked to guard tenants from harassment and discrimination.
Centanni sold all of his properties as a part of the settlement and has been permanently banned from owning or managing residential properties. He didn’t admit to any wrongdoing in settling the lawsuit.
The agreement was the most important monetary settlement the DOJ has ever obtained in a case alleging sexual harassment in housing and settled a federal lawsuit alleging Centanni sexually harassed his tenants over a 15-year period.
Centanni subjected residents and prospective tenants to “severe or pervasive sexual harassment,” in keeping with the lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice in 2020.
He allegedly demanded oral sex or touched the tenants inappropriately and without their consent in exchange for helping them apply for rental assistance to remain of their homes.
Commercial
Centanni and his properties also benefited greatly from federal Section 8 housing vouchers, which netted him over $100,000 in Housing Selection Voucher payments every month.
The $4.5 million he has agreed to pay will likely be distributed to his victims through a compensation fund, in keeping with the DOJ.
He has also settled at the very least seven lawsuits filed by previous tenants in state courts, in keeping with NJ.com.
A Latest Jersey landlord has been hit with greater than three dozen sex charges for demanding sexual favors from 30 low-income tenants in exchange for housing help, prosecutors said.
Joseph Centanni, 75, of Mountainside was charged last week in a 42-count indictment that features 23 counts of second-degree sexual assault and 19 counts of fourth-degree criminal sexual contact, in keeping with the Union County Prosecutor’s Office on Wednesday.
Centanni owned 18 low-income residential rental properties in town of Elizabeth — each starting from 4 to 100 units.
The creepy landlord allegedly bribed men and ladies ages 22 to 61 to interact in unwanted sexual favors between 2013 and 2020.
“The defendant allegedly solicited the sex acts from his victims as a quid pro quo, agreeing to supply them rent reductions, a delay in an eviction, or other forms of monetary assistance in exchange,” the statement said.
“He also purportedly threatened tenants who hesitated or refused his advances with eviction or other retaliatory measures.”
Centanni was arrested in June 2021 but stays free on court-ordered pretrial monitoring pending the final result of his case.
A yr ago, the Justice Department announced that Centanni agreed to pay an enormous $4.5 million to resolve a Fair Housing Act lawsuit that looked to guard tenants from harassment and discrimination.
Centanni sold all of his properties as a part of the settlement and has been permanently banned from owning or managing residential properties. He didn’t admit to any wrongdoing in settling the lawsuit.
The agreement was the most important monetary settlement the DOJ has ever obtained in a case alleging sexual harassment in housing and settled a federal lawsuit alleging Centanni sexually harassed his tenants over a 15-year period.
Centanni subjected residents and prospective tenants to “severe or pervasive sexual harassment,” in keeping with the lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice in 2020.
He allegedly demanded oral sex or touched the tenants inappropriately and without their consent in exchange for helping them apply for rental assistance to remain of their homes.
Commercial
Centanni and his properties also benefited greatly from federal Section 8 housing vouchers, which netted him over $100,000 in Housing Selection Voucher payments every month.
The $4.5 million he has agreed to pay will likely be distributed to his victims through a compensation fund, in keeping with the DOJ.
He has also settled at the very least seven lawsuits filed by previous tenants in state courts, in keeping with NJ.com.
