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Article
and Video Courtesy of
WFTV
Channel 9 -- ABC
ORLANDO
-- Daytona Beach
Published May 7, 2007
ORANGE
COUNTY, Fla. -- Appliances were thrown
on the front lawn and a garage door was crushed in during a mortgage
meltdown Wednesday in front of Eyewitness News cameras.
Neighbors called Channel 9, upset about the messy
house in the Waterford Chase neighborhood, but what the owner did
when the camera crew showed up no one was expecting. The homeowner
tore apart the half-million dollar house on Cedar Forest Circle
before the bank could take it.
The owners of the $465,000 home went on a
rampage, trashing it, smashing windows and slamming a truck and
trailer into the garage door, all because neighbors called Channel 9
to complain about the property.
Foreclosure frustration boiled over in
Waterford Chase. The neighbors called about a giant backyard junk
pile, while the front yard is adorned crosses and Jesus signs.
Inside the home is trashed, abandoned and protected by a dog left
behind.
"I think it's awful! I think it's just
disgusting," said neighbor Lisa Schrader.
Code enforcement has placed liens. Animal
Control came to the house Monday when the dog was spotted hanging
out an open second floor window. Wednesday, the pond-like pool was
left open, easy access for kids and the lawn man said he is in
disbelief over the rodents.
"If I make a pass in between the two
houses, the rats scatter," said landscaper Tom Smith.
As an Eyewitness News crew was documenting the
condition of the foreclosed home Wednesday, the brothers who
abandoned the house arrived and a strange debate ensued.
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"And until the bank takes it, you're just
going to treat it like this?" Barrett asked.
"We're not doing anything. Just come back
every day. You don't know what I'm about to do right now,"
Prisicandaro said.
That was an understatement. Neighbors called
Eyewitness News again less than an hour later. Upon return, the
house was much worse. The front windows had been smashed out. A
truck and trailer was smashed into the garage door. Sinks and
fixtures were ripped out. Appliances were now dumped in the front
yard.
"It's just amazing that in one day it can
be completely destroyed and by the owner of all people," said
eyewitness David Raddis.
But the most surprising moment Wednesday was
when Anthony Prisicandaro asked to speak again about the trashing
and the anguish caused to neighbors.
"Before you left, I told you I was gonna
clean up the house and now look at the house. And on the news. In
Jesus' name, I really just want to apologize. I really just want to
humble myself and apologize to my neighbors, apologize to the bank,
to basically everybody," he said.
As for the dog, Animal Control said there is
not much they can do as long as the pet is left with food and water.
As for the mortgage company in California, it's unlikely they'll get
back anywhere near what they loaned the guys for the house two years
ago.
Foreclosure cases are becoming more common in
the Waterford Lakes area. There are currently 944 homes in
pre-foreclosure in that ZIP code. That's a large number of the 7,300
homes in pre-foreclosure in all of Orange County.
"You don't feel bad for your
neighbors?" WFTV reporter Steve Barrett asked the pair.
"Feel bad for the neighbors? Well, the
house is obviously not up to your par," said Anthony
Prisicandaro, brother of the home's owner, Mario Prisciandaro.
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