NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – An alleged squatter was indicted on Thursday for illegally occupying a single-family home in Queens and renting out rooms to others, prosecutors said.
Brian Rodriguez, 35, from Queens, was arraigned on charges of a five-count indictment charging him with burglary in the second degree, grand larceny in the fourth degree, criminal possession of stolen property in the fourth degree, criminal trespass in the second degree and criminal mischief in the fourth degree.
According to prosecutors, Rodriguez allegedly occupied a house in Flushing. The owner, Adele Andaloro, changed the locks but Rodriguez forced himself back inside the home and claimed that he was a legal tenant but had no proof.
On Feb. 17, Andaloro visited her inherited 160th Street home and found the front door locks had been changed, despite it being unoccupied and unchanged during her last visit on Jan. 21.
For the next couple of days, Andaloro saw Rodriguez inside her home, whom she had never met and had not given permission to access the property.