Monday, December 20, 2010

News Flash! I just got an email from Evelyn. She got an email from Rob Mackenzie, the guy Joe moved in w/ when he was tossed out of Evelyn's house. Joe has a new victim! He actually has a girlfriend to abuse now! He sent me an email a few months ago, but asked me not to publish it, because Joe was living in his house & he was as afraid of Joe as Evelyn had reason to be. Now, I can publish his email, since Joe is gone.

"Dear Linda,

I presume you are Linda DerBoggosian of the http://judgejudysucks.blogspot.com/ ?

Thank you very much for your site. It reassured that I'm not his only victim. Please don't add this email to your site without my approval because Joe Bartone is in my house now & I'm afraid he'll read it and I'm in danger. My story is in the P.S. should you wish to read it, though it's confidential to you.

What Joe Bartone apparently did with Evelyn has been his exact modus operandi here with me. I thought he'd be good because he was so charming, my other roommate recommended him & he plays guitar too [I was guitarist in an old R&R group called Sha Na Na for 12 - 13 years with a lifetime of pro playing, so thought there'd be some respect]. He's extremely charming until....


I'm afraid he won't leave, may destroy more property, or hurt me & am certain Joe will sue me in small claims, so am seeking advice from anyone asap & hopefully a character reference about Joe that could be used.

I called Evelyn 3 months ago & she wished me luck, but said she was afraid of Joe for her life & wouldn't help me. I don't think he's after her at all though, that's past. His abuse of her is over, I'm his current victim & there's time to do something about it right now.

BTW. Re. the JJ show: A week or 2 before the shows taping, Joe told me he'd spoken with someone in JJ's production & was left feeling very confident he'd win the case. He also said "After all it is a TV show they're making & their bottom line is making a good show."
However, he said the JJ show paid him the $5,400, Evelyn didn't have to pay anything, right?

Anyway, I'd love to speak or email with yourself or anyone with past Joe Bartone experience.

Thanks very much if you read this,

Rob Mackenzie

818 ph# deleted [okay to call that # 24/7 without fear of disturbing anyone] I''m up late.


P.S.
JOE HAS:
Caused more damage from abuse in this home than the $500 deposit plus $800 last rent I'm holding. [He tries every way to weasel out of acknowledging it, currently refuses to see it in person; demands photographs & estimates from licensed & insured contractors only! It's all right in front of him at home & he won't look at it, just a million reasons it's not him.]
In 30 years I've only deducted from the deposit of 1 or 2 roommates for damage.

He lied in my rental application process by concealing he was a recovering crack cocaine addict.
He did not give the proper notice pursuant to our lease (minimum full calendar month) plus he's breaking the 12 month clause also.
He's been very threatening & is very scary.

Joe insisted on a 12 month lease (verbal) when he arrived & invoked that lease on 3 occasions from early when I would have given him notice because of his damage & the risk he put us under.
The last time he invoked our lease was when he said he'd be moving into his girlfriends future new home soon, and said "but don't worry, I'll honour our 12 month lease & stay till January". I believe he said that because she hadn't bought the house yet & he didn't want to have to move an extra time before it was ready, which would happen if I found a new roommie before the girlfriends house was ready. I wouldn't have done that though because, unlike him, I honour my agreements even if defaulting would save me money, which it may have because Jan 1st isn't the easiest date to get someone to move in on.

Later after deciding he'd break that same lease he'd been reminding me of so he could move 2 months early into a home his girlfriend has bought, he first denied the existence of the lease at all, then later admitted we had a verbal lease with those clauses, but insisted that because it wasn't written up & signed & dated, it was not legal! He's changed his story on this to whatever he thinks will work for him, with no regard for the truth.

When I allowed him to move in 10 days earlier than agreed, he concealed that it was because his former roommate/landlord, Evelyn, had taken a restraining order on him.
He sued her, was incredibly organised, had printed about 200 emails as evidence (accidently left them on the couch w. restraining order on top (when I discovered that). Has an Uncle who's a judge, befriends attorneys, seems really into suing people & has sent me many manipulative dishonest emails to create a paper trail of admissible evidence against me. Prior to my October 14th 2010 email to him which fairly, honestly, and mildly asserted some of my rights, which caused his rampant 36 hour(?) tirade, threats, war declaration etc., I'd only once made any form of even mild written criticism when, giving him a heads up that I was considering visiting Australia for a month or 3 and asking how he felt about being left in charge of the house, I said I felt vulnerable that he sometimes left the house unattended with the doors not only unlocked, but wide open to the street & mentioned the food he trod into the kitchen floor that was being spread around the house. He went NUTS for 15 minutes! Deliberately intimidating me, standing with his face 1" from mine incredulously screaming full volume, "Vulnerable, vulnerable? What's WRONG with you!?!! You need to see a psychiatrist if you feel vulnerable!!! " etc.. Next day he humbly apologised for his anger though not for the subject matter of his tirade (as though he was sorry he lost it, but still thought what he had to say was justified) but, despite countless appropriate opportunities, I was too intimidated to send another email with any criticism or assertion for 6? months till this October 14th when, fearing violence, I called police for advice before sending it, & he went nuts again.

He used a slanderous lie as a threat to blackmail me (I think it's blackmail) . Told me that if I don't sign & date a paper that I'll give him the money that I don't owe him, he'll make my other roommate leave by, amongst other things emailing & calling the roommie & his father & telling them the 100% lie that I'm "trafficking in child pornography!!!" ...plus tell that to other people! Claims he "documented that with his attorney only a month after moving in" which means he was preparing false evidence to sue me right from when he moved in when he was being Mr. saccharine nice guy.

He's threatened he'll never move out until I give him all the money I'm holding & put me through the horrible 3 month eviction process during which he said he'd be so horrible to anyone that no other renter would stay here, so I'd be losing rent from both rooms for 3 months.
He openly declared war. Then the next day he apologised for the way he spoke & said it was very good of me to listen to him which he didn't deserve etc. but he didn't reneg on any threats in his 3 hour tirade. I've been ignoring him since. He is a Jekyl & Hyde.
Surprisingly both toilets have broken in the past 10 days. Not sure if he isn't trying to break things in a way he can claim was just normal wear & tear so he'd not be responsible even if it could be proved he did it.
3 - 4 months ago Joe paid me $800 rent in cash on the first of 4 days that I didn't leave home at all. The 2nd night the money was missing from the desktop in my main bedroom. I turned the place upside down in vain for 2 days but didn't accuse because one other roommate was here (though he didn't know I had the cash). It never showed up & now it seems most likely Joe stole it.

What should a reasonable person do?
Thanks. RM "