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Sep 1, 2010

Schweikert scrambles to defend foreclosure investment scheme

NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Sept. 1, 2010

Schweikert scrambles to defend foreclosure investment scheme

His response doesn't mention multiple citations, fines for blight

PHOENIX – On Tuesday, perennial congressional candidate David Schweikert scrambled to answer questions about what real estate experts call his “vulture” or “bottom feeder” foreclosure investment scheme that banks on Arizona’s faltering housing market.

Responding to media questions via a campaign consultant, Schweikert justified his foreclosure investment scheme of an estimated $11 million in real-estate holdings by saying that he simply worked to “improve neighborhoods” and “rehabilitate” homes. [Arizona Capitol Times, Yellow Sheet Report, Aug. 31, 2010] The reality is, Schweikert has been repeatedly cited for neighborhood neglect and now faces thousands of dollars in fines. [Sources below] “David Schweikert is becoming less credible by the day,” said Luis Heredia, executive director of the Arizona Democratic Party. “He wants Arizonans to believe he’s a one-man Habitat for Humanity, but the reality is that he's created his very own Vulture Valley.” Schweikert and his properties have been cited by the City of Phoenix for violations of ordinances against blight -- including violations for graffiti, overgrown weeds and a stagnant swimming pool, as well as for leaving his homes open and unsecured. [Sources below]

Repeated violations of City of Phoenix ordinances

Schweikert’s properties have been REPEATEDLY cited for violations of City of Phoenix ordinances. The cited properties are owned by Swartz & Brough Inc., for which Schweikert is listed as the power of attorney (to view documentation, click on the blue “4” under “Pages”), and for which Schweikert’s home address at 15749 E. El Lago Blvd. in Fountain Hills, Ariz., is listed as the address of record.

• On Feb. 11, 2010, the City of Phoenix issued a Notice of Ordinance Violation for graffiti and for the home being left “open and unsecured” at 4316 N. 49th Ave. in Phoenix. See pp. 14-20 at yourlosshisgain.com.
• On June 28, 2010, the City of Phoenix issued another Notice of Ordinance Violation at 4316 N. 49th Ave. in Phoenix, this time for “multiple violations” of work being performed without the required permits. See pp. 25-28 at yourlosshisgain.com.
• On Oct. 6, 2009, the City of Phoenix issued a Notice of Ordinance Violation for blight at 4526 N. 53rd Lane in Phoenix. Specifically, the notice cited graffiti, overgrown weeds, trash/debris along adjacent right of ways, a “green and stagnant pool in rear yard,” as well as the home being left “open and unsecured” See pp. 7-13 at yourlosshisgain.com.
• On Feb. 11, 2010, the City of Phoenix issued a Notice of Ordinance Violation for blight at 4322 N. 49th Ave. in Phoenix. Specifically, the notice cited overgrown weeds, a dead tree in the rear yard, litter/debris on the property, and for the home being left “open and unsecured” See pp. 1-6 at yourlosshisgain.com.
• On June 28, 2010, the City of Phoenix issued another Notice of Ordinance Violation at 4322 N. 49th Ave. in Phoenix, this time for construction work being performed without the required building permits . See pp. 21-24 at yourlosshisgain.com.