As of: February 22, 2024, 6:17 a.m
By: Karolin Schaefer
Comments
Press
Split
A 48-year-old lives for free in a famous hotel in New York for several years.
He took advantage of a legal loophole.
But now things are going terribly wrong.
New York – Life in New York is expensive.
The metropolis on the Hudson River in the USA is ultimately one of the most expensive cities in the world.
Even for small apartments in the city center, rent costs several thousand euros.
Munich is the most expensive city in Germany.
However, Mickey Barreto lived in the Big Apple for five years completely free of charge.
Man files lawsuit and lives in New York hotel for five years without paying
During this time, the 48-year-old lived rent-free in The New Yorker Hotel - with the help of a loophole in the law.
This was reported by the
AP
news agency .
But how did that work?
The American and his girlfriend spent a night in the hotel in 2018, which is a popular photo opportunity with its red lettering.
A friend reportedly told Barreto about a loophole in a local housing law.
This allows residents of single rooms in buildings built before 1969 to request a six-month rental agreement.
When the man told the hotel operators that he was a tenant because he had spent one night in the hotel, he was shown the door.
“The New Yorker Hotel” is known for its red lettering.
© imago
But he didn't let that go.
A first attempt in court failed, but Barreto won in the next instance.
The operators didn't want to negotiate a rental agreement, but they couldn't throw him out given the court order.
Legal loophole allows 48-year-old to stay in a New York hotel for free
The compromise: The American was allowed to live in the building until July 2023 without paying a single cent.
However, a little later he went overboard.
According to the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, charges of multiple counts of forgery of documents have been filed against the 48-year-old.
My news
Daylight Saving Time 2024: Is the time change this weekend?
read
“Large portion of new snow” – another onset of winter in the Alpenlese
Rockfalls in Italy: Search for missing people after falling rocks - roads buried at a popular lake and in Trentino read
Turning point in the Rebecca Reusch case?
Video shows sensitive moment on the day she disappeared
Fascinating discovery on a Baltic Sea beach leaves locals astonished: “It’s scary.”
Influencer gave parenting tips on YouTube – now she has to go to prison for child abuse
He is said to have used false documents to claim to be the owner of the New York hotel between May 2019 and September 2023, according to a statement from the authority on February 14.
“As alleged, Mickey Barreto repeatedly and fraudulently claimed ownership of one of the city’s most famous landmarks, the New Yorker Hotel,” said District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
“We will not tolerate tampering with our city’s property records.”
Charge of forgery of documents: man pretends to be a hotel owner
While posing as the owner, the defendant, among other things, charged another resident of the hotel for rent and registered the hotel under his name with the New York City Environmental Protection Agency for water and sewer payments.
Eventually, the actual owner obtained an injunction prohibiting Barreto from making any further false statements.
But in April and September 2023, he violated the court order and submitted further fake documents.
So Barreto probably won't get out of the matter without consequences.
The public prosecutor's investigation is ongoing.
In Bavaria, a man posed as a fake police officer and stole from a 93-year-old in his apartment.