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12.27.2001
AG sues Woonsocket landlord over lead
• After 12 children in four of Roy Topik's rental units tested for high levels of lead, Sheldon Whitehouse filed a civil complaint in Superior Court.
BY MICHAEL SMITH
Journal Staff Writer
WOONSOCKET -- Atty. Gen. Sheldon Whitehouse yesterday sued a landlord who he says did not remove lead paint from his buildings, even after children who live in them were found to have high levels of lead in their blood.
The landlord, Roy S. Topik, owns groups of tenement buildings in about a half-dozen locations in the city. Whitehouse says that 12 children under age 6 who live in four of Topik's rental units have tested for high levels of lead.
Whitehouse filed the civil complaint in Superior Court yesterday. He is requesting that Topik be ordered to remove the lead, plus pay fines. Topik, 41, of 46 Hemlock Farm Trail, Burrillville, could be held in contempt of court if he doesn't obey a judge's order to do so.
The civil complaint is part of a larger focus on landlords statewide who fail to remove lead after being ordered to do so by the state Department of Health.
So far, Whitehouse's office has been involved in 199 such cases, said Jim Martin, spokesman for Whitehouse. However, yesterday's filing is the first one related to property in Woonsocket.
Lead poisoning can lead to stunted growth and lowered intelligence, among other things. Children are at risk because they sometimes put chips of paint that contain lead in their mouths.
Lead paint was banned in 1978, but it still exists in many houses built before then.
A week ago, a rental-property manager in New Hampshire pleaded guilty in federal court to criminal charges related to lead-paint hazards. A 2-year-old girl who lived at the property died from lead poisoning.
The charges were for failing to warn residents about the lead in their home and for obstructing an investigation into the matter. It was the first time a property manager has been criminally charged for not warning tenants about lead.
The four addresses in Woonsocket that are part of the civil complaint are: 123 Rathbun St., apartment 3; 606 East School St., second floor, left; 149 Elm St., second floor, right, and third floor.
At all of those addresses, at least one child has had high levels of lead, according to the complaint. The first case was reported to the state Department of Health in May 1999, and the others followed.
In each case, the Department of Health issued violation notices and ordered Topik to remove the lead. When he didn't, the department issued a second violation for the properties.
After that, Whitehouse's office got involved. In the complaint, Whitehouse cites the state's Lead Poisoning Prevention Act and the Abatement of Nuisances Act.
Martin said he couldn't discuss the details of the children's conditions. The complaint does not describe what types of problems they may have experienced.
"You've got 12 children under the age of 6 that tested positive for elevated levels, and that in itself is certainly significant," Martin said.
Topik could not be reached yesterday.
He has often been at odds with city officials over the condition of his properties. He has been cited for housing-code violations, and the city has condemned several of his buildings.
In April, the police arrested Topik after Mayor Susan D. Menard accused him of threatening her. The alleged confrontation happened in front of one of Topik's buildings that was being condemned.
Yesterday, Menard said Topik has a track record of not taking care of his buildings.
"I'm not surprised that this happened," she said of the civil complaint. "I feel bad for the children and the families involved."
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