Shekarchi’s Law Firm Tied To Dozens of Eviction Hearings, Raises Concerns as RI Faces Housing Crisis
Tuesday, January 05, 2021
Rhode Island Speaker of the House-Elect Joseph Shekarchi’s law firm has been tied to dozens of eviction hearings in the past five years plus representing the Warwick Housing Authority (WHA).
Court records show that both Shekarchi and his associate Joseph Brennan combined have filed numerous eviction notices in 2020 including right up until the pandemic hit in March, before evictions were put on hold first by executive orders and then by the federal government.
The federal moratorium issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on prohibiting evictions of tenants for nonpayment of rent is set to expire at the end of January.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTAlex Kithes, a former member of the City Council in Woonsocket, has raised concerns about Shekarchi’s dual role with having his law firm involved in evictions -- and serving as Speaker of the House.
“Serious problems, that on the brink of an historic eviction crisis the incoming Speaker is profiting off evicting people from their homes,” he added.
Shekarchi Law & Evictions
In 2020, Shekarchi Law Offices was involved in eight eviction proceedings before the pandemic in the first two months of the year.
In addition, Shekarchi represented WHA in an eviction hearing as recently as December 20, 2020.
"I've been there for a long time," said Shekarchi, of working as a contract attorney for the housing authority.
The WHA operates with a board of directors under the City of Warwick.
"The [WHA] supports low-income people, you have to be qualified," said Shekarchi. "There are some tenants who get evicted — or the process is started -- because it's about conduct. It’s not always about rent."
Shekarchi noted that evictions can happen for people breaking WHA rules -- from loud parties, to smoking offenses, and more.
"There is a waiting list [for housing]. You want to make sure everyone gets a fair shot," he said, "There's a warning process. Ultimately some people don't follow the rules and they have to go."
"I get paid the same whether I do five evictions a month or fifteen," said Sherkachi, who said he believes his monthly retainer fee is around $4,000.
"Evictions are really just a small piece of my work with the housing authority. I'm general counsel," he said.
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RI in Focus
In August 2020, Rhode Island State Representative Grace Diaz introduced legislation to extend the eviction moratorium during the declared state of emergency, which Rhode Island is still operating under currently.
Around the state, nonprofits and activists are bracing for an eviction crisis in 2021, with the state of Rhode Island’s economy -- and unemployment -- in an increasingly precarious position in 2021.
According to the release at the passage of the Fiscal Year 2021 budget in December, federal CARES Act funds were allocated to Rhode Islanders “facing increased economic hardship this year," including “increased housing, rental and eviction relief assistance."
"I think it was $12 million in total," said Shekarchi of the federal eviction relief assistance -- and that he supports Diaz' legislation.
Economics of Eviction
Kithes said he started digging into the issue of Shekarchi's role in eviction proceedings when he said "it became clear that there would be a handoff for Speaker" from former Speaker Nicholas Mattiello to his former number two Shekarchi.
"I wanted to look into this, because from a perspective of economic issues, I think [Shekarchi's] actually a lot more conservative," said Kithes, who has worked with Rhode Islanders for Reform on pushing for General Assembly rules reform, and specifically how bills ultimately get to a floor vote -- or not.
"The unfortunate reality is that most Rhode Islanders have almost become desensitized to this sort of wheeling and dealing," said Kithes of Shekarchi's dual roles as lawmaker and lawyer, like most Speakers in recent history.
"Shekarchi has claimed he'll be a much more 'open-eared' Speaker and while I hope that's true, I have my doubts," said Kithes.
Shekarchi refuted the assertion he "profits" off evictions.
This story was first published 1/4/21 6:15 PM
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