Los Angeles: House Arrest for a Slumlord

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The principle of making the punishment fit the crime has rarely been taken so literally. After Neurosurgeon Milton Avol, 61, was found guilty of failing to correct repeated violations of health and fire-safety codes in the ramshackle, rodent-infested apartment buildings he owns, Los Angeles Municipal Judge Veronica Simmons McBeth sentenced him to spend 30 days in a public cell and 30 days in a private one: a grungy one-room apartment in one of his own buildings.

The Beverly Hills doctor, who is free pending appeal, would be permitted some amenities in his house arrest: a television, reading material and a private security guard. He would be able to leave his shabby room only to use one of the hallway bathrooms, which are shared by as many as a dozen tenants. Deputy City Attorney Stephanie Sautner, who prosecuted the case, told the Los Angeles Times, "If landlords fear that they would have to live in the same squalor they impose on some of their tenants, they just might think twice before allowing their apartments to deteriorate to such a level."