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They want 'slumlord' to feel their pain
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FOR THE alleged victims of Philadelphia's homegrown "Slumlord Millionaire," federal prison for him would be too comfy.
Robert Coyle Sr. - the real-estate mogul who was widely known for peddling shabby homes to the city's poorest and robbing them of their dream of home ownership - was indicted last week on charges of defrauding banks out of $10 million. If convicted, Coyle could face up to 120 years in prison and $4 million in fines.
"I'm liking that he might have to pay $4 million in fines - he'll feel that," Inez Ramos, an alleged Coyle victim, said last night. "But if he goes to prison, he'll still have a roof over his head. He is not going to get cold or worry that he's not going to have enough money for food. He'll have a place to sleep and he'll get three meals a day, and taxpayers like us, we'll have to pay for it."
Ramos is one of dozens of cash-strapped tenants, mostly in Kensington and Port Richmond, who claim that Coyle promised that they could rent-to-own their homes. The hopeful homeowners used what little money they had to make Coyle's rickety homes livable. They spent their life savings to install sinks, toilets, windows, walls, roofs, kitchens and front doors.
After all that, instead of getting deeds, they got slapped with foreclosure notices and faced eviction.
In an October 2009 article, the Daily News detailed how Coyle, who ran Landvest and at least 11 other companies, obtained more than $15 million in bank loans on some 300 homes that he owned or rented out, then stopped making bank payments and padlocked his Port Richmond real-estate office.
The banks expected to be repaid through Coyle's rental income, and if he defaulted on the loans, the banks could recoup losses by selling Coyle's properties, which he used as collateral.
But the indictment, which grew out of a probe started by the city's District Attorney's Office in 2008, alleges that:
• Coyle did not hold good title for all the homes because he had entered into ownership agreements with several tenants.
• To obtain bank loans, Coyle inflated the amount of rent that he was collecting on some homes and listed vacant properties as occupied.
• Coyle showed the banks forged leases and fake letters to tenants, making it appear that he'd raised their rent.
Coyle, 66, did not return a telephone message yesterday or respond to a note left for him at the front door of his South Jersey home. Efforts to reach his defense attorney, Jeffrey M. Miller, were unsuccessful.
He is expected to appear in federal court tomorrow to enter a not-guilty plea.
Many of Coyle's alleged victims live in limbo, not knowing if they'll be able to qualify for a mortgage, said Jennifer Schultz, staff attorney at Community Legal Services.
Some of Coyle's homes are vacant. "Some people moved on, trying to get stability in their lives," Schultz said. "People got scared of getting evicted. Some cut and ran."
Ramos stayed, even though there was no sink in the bathroom of the Frankford home that she rented from Coyle beginning in 2006. She used a garbage bag in place of a wall in her kitchen. Ramos and her fiancé spent thousands to reconstruct the home while they paid $600 a month to Coyle.
"I'd like to say I feel sorry for [Coyle], that people make mistakes," Ramos said. "But he hurt far too many families. So many families were just trying to live a dream and get a home for their children. He stomped on that dream, laughed in their faces and did it all over again."
Ramos expected to own the home, until she found out that the house was listed for sheriff sale. For two years, she worried that she'd end up homeless, but she was able to work out a deal with East River Bank, which held the mortgage, and now she has a deed to the house.
"We've been blessed," Ramos said. "We have a mortgage, but it's our home. I'm very thankful. . . . I really feel for the other families. I hurt for the other families."
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