Bay State Homeowner Ordered To Demolish Newly-Constructed Home Over Zoning Violations After Discovery That Town Issued Building Permit In Error; Family Estimates Losses Close To $500K

In Rockland, Massachusetts, MyFoxBoston reports:

• A Rockland man claims he was given the green light to build his three-bedroom house, but now he's being ordered to tear it down because of an alleged mistake made by the town.
  
  In 2010, Robert Del Prete reportedly purchased a lot at 320 Concord St. in Rockland from his father and uncle to make it useful. The land to the back of it, their old farm, was sold to make a golf course, and other family members live next door.
  
  "As far as the building inspector was concerned it was a grandfathered lot and he gave us the permit," Robert Del Prete told FOX 25.
  
  Del Prete and his wife Sheree say they sunk approximately $400,000 into building the home on the lot and even had a buyer lined up for the property.
  
  The potential buyer told the Del Pretes they were going to use the home to house adults with disabilities; however, around that same time, the town told the Del Pretes they gave the permit in error.
  
  And now, about three years after getting building and occupancy permits, the town is threatening to tear down the Del Prete's house and says Building Inspector Thomas Ruble shouldn't have issued the permits in the first place.
  
  Rockland town officials say the Del Pretes are in violation of zoning laws because they're about 3,700 square feet shy of the minimum buildable lot size in town.
  
  The lot also needs an extra 12 ½-feet of road frontage to comply with the law; however, Del Prete claims his abutter refuses to sell him the land.
  
  "The land doesn't comply for area. It didn't comply for frontage. And the property was not grandfathered," Rockland Town Administrator Allen Chiocca said.
  
  The Del Pretes estimate their losses on the home total about half a million dollars with legal bills. They've lost their business and they were forced to move into the Concord Street house after their personal home went into foreclosure.
  
  The town says they created their own hardship.
  
  The matter will be back in housing court later in August.

Source: Rockland family may be forced to demolish newly constructed home.

Court Nixes Ex-Wife's Belated Attempt To Invoke California's $100K Homestead Exemption To Justify Pocketing Tax Refund Proceeds That Victims Of Convicted, Ponzi-Scheming Ex-Hubby Were Entitled To

In Monterey, California, The Monterey Herald reports:

• When convicted embezzler Jay Zubick signed over all his assets to the victims of his $16 million Ponzi scheme in 2007, the agreement meant every penny, a judge ruled Friday.
  
  Judge Lydia Villarreal rejected a bid by Zubick's ex-wife to retain a $43,000 income tax refund she had received before Zubick's conviction.
  
  Suzanne Zubick, who was unaware of her husband's crimes and has since divorced him, reasoned that she signed over her Monterra house under duress and without knowing she had the right to invoke a statutory "homestead exemption." The exemption would have allowed her to keep $100,000 of the proceeds from the house's sale.
  
  Villarreal said the time for her to claim the exemption would have been in 2007 and the tax refund belongs to Jay Zubick's 29 victims.

***

• She said her life was turned upside down by the discovery of her husband's deceit. In one day, she went from believing her husband was dying to knowing he was a thief. She received telephone calls threatening her children, whose schools had to take measures to protect them.
  
  On the advice of her husband's criminal attorney, the Zubicks signed over all assets, including the Monterra house. They were allowed to take only the clothes on their backs and one change of clothing. The investors denied a request for the children's beds.

For the story, see Zubick embezzlement: Years later, victims, ex-wife fight over money.

Ex-Michigan High Court Justice Begins Prison Time At West Virginia's "Camp Cupcake" For Role In Using Short Sale Shuffle On Underwater Home To Hide $1M+ In Assets From Bank; Stay Expected To Be 9-10 Months On 366-Day Sentence

In Detroit, Michigan, The Detroit News reports:

• Former state Supreme Court Justice Diane Hathaway arrived at a federal prison in West Virginia on Tuesday to serve one year and a day for bank fraud, a crime critics said brought shame to the state’s highest court.
  
  Hathaway, 59, is the latest celebrity inmate at the prison in Alderson, W.Va., dubbed “Camp Cupcake” because of its mountainous setting and long list of perks, including access to washers, dryers, microwave ovens, hair dryers, curling irons and cosmetology areas where inmate-to-inmate pedicures and manicures are allowed.

***

• The 366-day sentence will allow Hathaway to get time off for good behavior, meaning her time in custody likely will be nine to 10 months. A Federal Bureau of Prisons spokesperson confirmed the former justice’s arrival at the prison.
  
  Prosecutors said Hathaway engaged in an elaborate two-year fraud scheme involving a Grosse Pointe Park home. She pleaded guilty in January to one count of felony bank fraud, eight days after she resigned from the bench.
  
  Prosecutors said Hathaway hid assets worth more than $1 million and misled a bank while negotiating a short sale. A short sale is when the lender allows the sale of a home that is worth less than the amount owed.

For more, see Ex-Michigan Supreme Court Justice Diane Hathaway starts prison sentence.