VOA新闻杂志2024--New York Man Stays Free in Hotel, Then Claims to Own It

New York Man Stays Free in Hotel, Then Claims to Own It

For five years, a New York City man lived for free in a famous central New York City hotel. He made use of a little-known housing rule to avoid paying.

But government lawyers recently said Mickey Barreto went too far. He turned in paperwork claiming ownership of the whole New Yorker Hotel building. And he also tried to have another person pay him for living there.

Last week, Barreto was arrested and charged with turning in false property records, a criminal offense¹. The 48-year-old man says he was surprised when police showed up at his boyfriend's apartment with guns and protective gear.

"I said, ‘Oh, I thought you were doing something for Valentine's Day to spice up the relationship until I saw the female officers,'" Barreto recalled telling his boyfriend. Valentine's Day is a holiday where people celebrate love.

The charges against Barreto came after years of legal battles. They began when he and his boyfriend paid about $200 to stay in one of the more than 1,000 rooms in the hotel built in 1930.

Barreto says he had just moved to New York from Los Angeles, California when his boyfriend told him about a little-known part of housing law that permits people who stay in single rooms in buildings built before 1969 to demand a six-month contract.

Barreto claimed that because he had paid for a night in the hotel, he was counted as a tenant². He asked for a contract to stay and the hotel immediately had him leave.

Barreto said he went to court the next day and the judge denied him. But he said, "I appealed to the (state) Supreme³ Court and I won the appeal." But he added that at an important point in the case, lawyers for the building's owners did not show up, which permitted him to win by default.

The judge ordered the hotel to give Barreto a key. He said he lived there until July 2023 without paying for his room because the building's owners did not want to work out a contract with him. But they could not ask him to leave.

New York City prosecutors⁵ agree that the housing court gave Barreto "possession" of his room. But they say he did not stop there.

In 2019, he put false paperwork on a city website claiming that the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity had turned over the ownership of the entire building to him. The organization bought the property in 1976. The church was founded in South Korea by the late Rev⁶. Sun Myung Moon.

Barreto then tried to charge different groups as the owner of the building. The prosecutor⁴'s office said they include demanding payments from one of the hotel's tenants⁷ and demanding the hotel put its bank accounts in his name.

The Unification Church took Barreto to court in 2019 over the building's ownership claim. The case is ongoing⁸, but a judge ruled that Barreto cannot present himself as the owner in the meantime.

A Unification Church spokesperson did not comment on his arrest as there is an ongoing civil case.

In that case, Barreto argued that the judge who gave him "possession" of his room indirectly⁹ gave him the entire building because it had never been subdivided¹⁰.

"I never intended to commit any fraud. I don't believe I ever committed any fraud," Barreto said. He said he never made any money out of this.

Barreto said he aims to deny profits to the Unification Church. The church, known for holding large weddings, has been accused of misleading people to gain members and criticized by some over its friendly relationship with North Korea, where Moon was born.

Barreto said he has never paid for a lawyer and has always represented himself in civil cases. Last week, he secured criminal defense¹¹ legal representation.

Words in This Story

Apartment – n. a usually rented room or set of rooms that is part of a building and is used as a place to live

prosecutor – n. a lawyer who represents the side in a court case that accuses a person of a crime and who tries to prove that the person is guilty

spice – v. to add interest or excitement to (something)

fraud – n. the crime of using dishonest methods to take something valuable from another person

tenant – n. a person, business, or group that pays to use another person's property: someone who rents or leases a house, apartment, etc., from a landlord

default – n. used to describe something that happens or is done when nothing else has been done or can be done

intend – v. to plan or want to do (something)

commit – v. to do (something that is illegal or harmful)

1 offense   

n.犯规，违法行为；冒犯，得罪

参考例句：

• I hope you will not take any offense at my words. 对我讲的话请别见怪。
• His words gave great offense to everybody present.他的发言冲犯了在场的所有人。

2 tenant   

n.承租人；房客；佃户；v.租借，租用

参考例句：

• The tenant was dispossessed for not paying his rent.那名房客因未付房租而被赶走。
• The tenant is responsible for all repairs to the building.租户负责对房屋的所有修理。

3 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

4 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

5 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

6 rev   

v.发动机旋转，加快速度

参考例句：

• It's his job to rev up the audience before the show starts.他要负责在表演开始前鼓动观众的热情。
• Don't rev the engine so hard.别让发动机转得太快。

7 tenants   

n.房客( tenant的名词复数 )；佃户；占用者；占有者

参考例句：

• A number of tenants have been evicted for not paying the rent. 许多房客因不付房租被赶了出来。
• Tenants are jointly and severally liable for payment of the rent. 租金由承租人共同且分别承担。

8 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

9 indirectly   

adv.间接地，不直接了当地

参考例句：

• I heard the news indirectly.这消息我是间接听来的。
• They were approached indirectly through an intermediary.通过一位中间人，他们进行了间接接触。

10 subdivided   

再分，细分( subdivide的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The compound was subdivided into four living areas. 那个区域被划分成4个居住小区。
• This part of geologic calendar has not been satisfactorily subdivided. 这部分地质年代表还没有令人满意地再细分出来。

11 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。