Unfixed leaky roof leads to Norristown resignation

Talk about storm damage.

What started as a leaky roof at a Norristown house in February ended this week with the resignation of the borough's code-enforcement officer and embarrassment for the local district judge who, it turned out, had illegally rented the building.

Joseph Januzelli, Norristown's code officer since 2008, was forced to resign, town officials say, after an internal review found he failed to make sure the 81-year-old renter's house was up to code.

Januzelli came under scrutiny after Ilene Schwartz told municipal council members that her landlord, District Justice Francis Lawrence, was slow to fix her roof after it was damaged in an ice storm. Schwartz said Lawrence had no rental license and alleged that the town was giving him preferential treatment.

Januzelli did not return calls for comment.

Norristown Municipal Administrator Crandall Jones said he investigated the allegations but found no proof of preferential treatment. Still, he said in a statement this week that Januzelli showed "gaps in both professional judgment and personal responsibility in handling this matter" that required he resign.

"In an abundance of concern over the public official involved, departmental management failed in protecting the health and safety of the citizen in question," Jones said.

Jones later confirmed that Lawrence had not obtained a renter's license for the property before renting it to Schwartz. Lawrence, who legally rents several other properties, said he has since obtained the license but that he could not comment further, on the advice of his court administrator.

His attorney, Sean Cullen, denied any favoritism by the municipality, saying, "We don't believe there was any preferential treatment given."

The controversy wasn't the first for Norristown's code-enforcement department. A 2010 report found it was inadequately staffed and funded, and the office was faulted for its role in approving a shoddily constructed condominium project on Sandy Street, a development that has cost taxpayers millions in repairs since 2006.

The house that Schwartz rents on the 400 block of West Fornance Street has been in Lawrence's family for decades, records show, and was owned by his father, also a judge.

Schwartz, who has lived there since 2004, said there were often problems with the furnace and kitchen appliances, as well as water in the basement. She didn't report most issues, and acknowledged that since Lawrence never visited the house, he would not have known of many of her complaints.

"I kept quiet because I was afraid I would get evicted if I complained," she said.

Schwartz's housing woes came to a head one night in February, when the ice storm that paralyzed much of the region tore a hole in the roof over her bedroom, damaging her mattress and other belongings. When she called for help, a dispatcher sent firefighters who alerted the code department to problems in the building, including backed-up sewage, Schwartz said.

Some repairs were made, Schwartz said, but the roof was not fixed until June, and a tarp was left to cover the hole for months. Januzelli visited the property throughout the winter, Schwartz said.

"I think he thought, 'Here's a dumb old lady, and we're going to get away with it,' " she said.

Fed up, Schwartz asked Januzelli for a copy of Lawrence's renter's license this summer. Shortly afterward, she said, she got an eviction notice from Lawrence.

At her eviction hearing, Lawrence sent a property manager to represent him and they agreed Schwartz would move out by the end of September, she said. Soon afterward, she learned Lawrence did not have a license, and told the council.

Schwartz is now looking for a new place to live.

"Since I went to council and blew the whistle, everybody has been fabulous," she said. "Everybody knows I was wronged, and they're helping me."