[ Send this story to a friend | Easy-print version ]Rent agents called late- night intimidatorsBy Thanassis Cambanis, Globe Staff Correspondent, 5/30/2001RAMINGHAM - Reinaldo M. Araujo never thought federal agents
would bang on his door late at night demanding rent checks. So he
was distressed when at 10:30 one night, two men came to his apartment
saying they were federal court officers, and told him to start paying his rent
to a company other than to his landlord.But his fear turned to indignation when he discovered the men weren't
federal agents but representatives for a mortgage company that had assumed
control of the property after the landlord defaulted on a loan payment.Now, Realty Financial Partners, a Boston group backed by Harvard, Yale,
and other universities, stands accused of strong-arming a group of tenants,
mainly immigrants, and sending representatives posing as FBI agents to
harass them - charges the company denies.''I was very scared. It was late at night, and I thought soon I might have to
move from my apartment,'' Araujo said of the Feb. 28 visit.Ten Brazilian and Central American tenants living in apartments owned by
Stanley Budryk have filed affidavits in Suffolk Superior Court alleging that
Realty Financial Partners sent a wave of men claiming to be FBI agents, US
marshals, and court officers to their apartments. They appeared in all eight
buildings owned by Budryk, scattered at four locations throughout
Framingham, between 10:30 p.m. and midnight.Yesterday, the tenants spoke to the Framingham chapter of the Brazilian
American Association, which scheduled a board meeting to discuss the
matter.Through a spokesman, Realty Financial Partners issued a statement calling
the charges ''ludicrous.'' After the group initiated foreclosure proceedings in
February, spokesman Bill Doncaster said, it sent an employee to the
Framingham properties to deliver written notices, telling tenants to write
future rent checks to Realty Financial Partners ''in accordance with standard
practices.''''At no point did we or any of our agents misrepresent ourselves to the
holder of the mortgage, or the tenants,'' the statement said. ''Any allegation
that anyone from our staff represented themselves as anything other than a
representative of RFP is absolutely ludicrous, and simply didn't happen.''Harvard spokesman Joe Wrinn said officials had contacted the group
yesterday to ask about the allegations of impersonating federal agents.
''Obviously we don't think people should misrepresent themselves, but
according to information we have from Realty Financial Partners, things
didn't happen that way,'' Wrinn said. ''We believe what we've been told.''Calls to Yale University's press office were not returned.Framingham's human relations director, Karen Barrata, said she had been
contacted about the case but had not yet met with tenants.Framingham Selectman Ginger Esty said the tenants might be afraid to file a
discrimination complaint because of their status as immigrants.''They're picking on people who are really new to this country. These people
are probably petrified,'' said Esty, who called the alleged strong-arm tactics
unacceptable. ''Harvard should be more careful where they put their
money.''Through a subsidiary called LR4A-JV Limited Partnership, Realty Financial
Partners bailed Budryk out of Chapter 11 reorganization bankruptcy in
February 2000 with a high-interest loan. When Budryk was unable to pay
off the $1.35 million he still owed a year later when the loan matured, Realty
Financial Partners became legally entitled to start collecting rent payments
from Budryk's eight rental properties. The group filed suit in Suffolk Superior
Court to assume control over the properties.But when the group or its management company sent agents to the sites on
Feb. 28, the tenants felt their rights were violated.''Two men came to my house and one asked if I speak English,'' Araujo said
in his affidavit.The court papers describe visits to all four properties between 10:30 p.m.
and midnight, in which representatives of Realty Financial Partners allegedly
told tenants they were either ''FBI,'' ''federal agents,'' or ''federal court
officers.''Lucas Hernandez, who lives at the same Henry Street building as Araujo,
said two men woke him and his family at 11 p.m. ''They told me that they
were Boston federal agents and also told me to pay the rent to them,''
Hernandez said in his affidavit. The men then gave him some papers and left,
he said.Ivanete de Oliveira, a Waushakum Street resident, said in her affidavit that a
man came to her door at 11:10 p.m. and flashed a badge, then told her not
to give her rent checks to Budryk.''He give no identification,'' Oliveira said. ''I have a family and small children.
I was very afraid to answer the door so late at night. This is not right.''Framingham police referred the incident to the Federal Bureau of
Investigation in March. It is FBI policy only to comment on investigations
that result in court cases.''Impersonating a federal officer is a felony,'' said FBI spokeswoman Gail
Macinkiewicz of the bureau's Boston office. ''If an investigation is over and
something is found, it would be prosecuted by the US attorney's office.''Budryk has filed a counterclaim against Realty Financial Partners' subsidiary
for failing to pick up garbage at the properties, and for intentionally
degrading them to reduce their value.The tenants are angry that ever since assuming control of the property,
Realty Financial Partners has refused to collect garbage, allegedly drawing
rats, skunks, and complaints from neighbors. The Framingham Board of
Health has issued six citations and said the refuse has become a hazard. At
the Henry and Waushakum street properties, mountains of garbage are piling
up and emit a foul odor. Each violation carries a $25 daily fine until the
garbage is removed.Realty Financial Partners said it has received none of the health citations, but
Budryk's lawyer said he had sent three written notices to the group about
unpaid trash fees. Budryk referred questions to the lawyer, Bill Jacobs.''When their agents came out and pretended to be FBI agents ... that's just
craziness,'' Jacobs said. ''I've never heard of something like that in all the
time I've been practicing.''This story ran on page B1 of the Boston Globe on 5/30/2001.
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