Free Eric Dinnocenzo - The Tenant Lawyer by Eric Dinnocenzo Page B

January 5, 2004. Mr. Rivera was a passenger in a vehicle when he was arrested by the Worcester Police Department for selling and/or distributing a Class A substance at or near the Rite-Mart convenience store on Worcester Center Boulevard.
     
    Just as I had anticipated, the notice was signed by Kevin Merola . I had a vague sense that something wasn’t quite right about it, but I didn’t know exactly what. I read it again starting from the top where it stated, “Fourteen (14) Day Notice to Quit,” and then it hit me— Merola had used the wrong type of notice. That was an error that could warrant a dismissal of the case.
    A fourteen-day notice to quit must be served on the tenant prior to the commencement of a non-payment of rent case, but a thirty-day notice must be served in eviction cases that allege tenant misconduct, including illegal drug activity that occurred off the premises. It puzzled me that a smart, experienced lawyer like Merola would make such an obvious mistake.
    I went to section 6(g) of the lease which stated:
     
    Any criminal activity that threatens the health, safety, or right to peaceful enjoyment of the premises by other tenants or any drug-related criminal activity on or off such premises, engaged in by a public housing tenant, any member of the tenant’s household, or any guest or other person under the tenant’s control, shall be cause for termination of tenancy.
     
    I moved on to the next lease clause implicated by the notice, section 7(b), which stated in relevant part:
     
    … if a tenant, any member of the tenant’s household, or guest is alleged to have engaged in any drug-related criminal activity on or near the premises, the tenancy may be terminated by a fourteen (14) day notice to quit.
     
    Never before had I seen this particular lease clause in any of my other drug eviction cases. I figured that it had recently been put into effect. By serving a fourteen-day notice, Merola was quite obviously operating under the theory that the Rite-Mart was located near the premises.
    “You may have already told me this at court, but how old is your son, Miguel?” I asked Anna.
    “He just turned nineteen.”
    “I see he’s on your lease.”
    Maria nodded. “Yeah.”
    “Has he been arrested before for drugs?”
    “Like when?”
    “Any time.”
    “Once before.”
    “For what?”
    “Marijuana.”
    “Dealing or possession?”
    “Just possession. I don’t think it was much.”
    “Do you know how much?”
    Anna pursed her lips together and looked off to the side, then slowly began to shake her head. “No. He was a kid back then. I don’t know.”
    “Do you know how old he was?”
    Anna rolled her eyes upward. “Sixteen, maybe.”
    “What happened in court? It went to court, right?”
    “He didn’t go to jail or anything.”
    “Do you know specifically what happened to him?”
    “No, I’m sorry. I don’t.”
    “Has Miguel been arrested for anything else?”
    She paused for a moment. “One other thing. Him and some friends took a bike, a moped I think it was, that belonged to someone else. It was around that same time as the marijuana. They took a joy ride, you know, and the police caught them. They said they planned on giving it back.”
    Sure, I thought. Of course, they were going to return the moped. “Do you know what happened to him in court?”
    “No.”
    Her lack of knowledge about her son’s criminal history didn’t surprise me. In fact, most of my clients in drug eviction cases were similarly in the dark when it came to their sons’ activities.
    “Anything else?” I asked.
    She shook her head. “No.”
    “Does he live with you?”
    “No. He used to stay with me sometimes, but he doesn’t live with me. You know, it was maybe once every one or two weeks, like when he wanted to shower and get some food. That’s it.”
    I clasped my hands together and placed them on the table. “Okay. Well, if he didn’t live with you, why didn’t you take him off your