Pocono News Section

Pittston Restaurant Owner Ordered To Fix Properties

Pittston Restaurant Owner Ordered To Fix Properties - Monday, October 29, 2007 at 5:52PM EST

Reported by: Jeff Chirico
Monday, Oct 29, 2007 @05:52pm EST
PITTSTON, LUZERNE COUNTY --A judge slaps a popular restaurant owner with fines and an order to clean up his dilapidated properties. The question now -- will he do it?

By all accounts, Parente Italian Restaurant and Bakery makes good food but take a look at Angelo Parente's other properties and you may lose your lunch.

“I know the fella personally and I can't say what I want to say," says Mike Bantelo. But he admits he’s frustrated with the vacant building across from his Miller Street home. It's a mess. There are falling gutters, weeds, and a fallen chimney. Bantelo implores Parente to “clean it up, rent it. Improve the neighborhood."

After more than a year of warning and citing the owner on three properties, code officer Greg Gulick faced Angelo Parente in a magistrate’s courtroom Monday. Gulick says "the judge found Mr. Parente guilty of all three. He was issued fines of $150 plus costs. He has 30 days to pay them or appeal them to county court."

And although ordered to clean up the property, there’s no guarantee he'll fix up the property. Gulick says state property maintenance codes are loose and there's little he can do. Gulick says "it’s a hard job I have here. If people cooperate, it’s great. If not all I can do is issue citations. They get fined again and again and again."

When we visited the Parente home, Luzerne County Deputy Sheriff Joe Oliveri told us his in-laws who live next door to him weren't home. Reporter Jeff Chirico asked Oliveri if his father-in-law plans to fix up his properties. Oliveri replied “I do not… I have no idea. I stay out of that."

Parente never returned Chirico’s call.

The story gets more bizarre. While one city office tries to get Parente to clean up his property, the I-Team confirmed the Pittston Redevelopment Authority just sold Parente another old, vacant building near his restaurant for $50,000.