QUEENS - A squatter who rented out rooms in a woman's million-dollar home in Queens pleaded not guilty to a slew of charges Thursday.
This came a month after the homeowner was arrested for trying to change the locks.
According to the Queens District Attorney, back in February, Brian Rodriguez forced his way back into Adele Andaloro's home after she changed the locks, allegedly pushing his way into the house as she tried to hold the door closed.
When he claimed that he was a legal tenant and Andaloro was trying to legally evict him, police had no choice but to remove Andaloro from her home.
After he'd signed a lease for $3,200 per month on the home and moved in subletters, Rodriguez claimed, he realized something was amiss when Andaloro showed up.
"I need a month or two to get them out," he told the Post before his arrest. "I am ready to give the house back to Ms. Adele. I'll take the L on this one. The house really beat me up."
His attorney Jerald Levine told Fox News Digital that Rodriguez was innocent.
"Everything is on the record all I can tell you is he's not guilty," Levine said.. "I'm not getting involved with the papers."
"I may end up in handcuffs today if a man shows up here and says I have illegally evicted him," Andaloro told
ABC 7
. "I said 'let him take me to court as I've been told to take him to court' because today I'm not leaving my house."
Rodriguez, 35, faces charges of second-degree burglary, fourth-degree grand larceny, fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property, second-degree criminal trespass and fourth-degree criminal mischief, the office wrote.
Assistant District Attorney William Jorgenson asked Judge Toni Cimino to jail Rodriguez on $100,000 bail until his next court date on May 13, and for a restraining order to keep him away from Andaloro. Cimino granted the order of protection but released Rodriguez a repeat offender with burglary and narcotics convictions, the Post reported on supervised home confinement.
https://www.fox5ny.com/news/squatter-charged-million-dollar-home-queens
Basically that one guy, Brian Rodriguez, finally got charged over that viral video of Andaloro got arrested when she tried to change the locks to her house that she inherited from her mother. Apparently now he is claiming that he's a victim of a fraud, supposedly signing a lease from someone and paying $3,200 a month. Looks like the judge didn't believe him.