Quote :

"Two years ago today, Joe Del Rio was awakened to find city officials at the door of his lifelong home in East Austin, demanding entry. Before it was over, the Police Department's SWAT team and the Fire Department had been deployed, and Del Rio said he was detained and questioned for about 10 hours because of what officials called a multilevel bunker-like space under the house with suspicious and unusual materials. After the city billed Del Rio in April for about $90,000 in repairs it said were critical to make the home on Canterbury Street safe, Del Rio sued the City of Austin last week for what his lawyers say was a heavy-handed and unconstitutional seizure of his property without compensation. "The ordeal they put me through was unnecessary," Del Rio, now 72, said the afternoon before the second anniversary of his forced eviction. "I've gotten the runaround. I think they want the property. Condemning it is a cheap way to get it.""

Quote :

"Del Rio said the space in question started out as a Cold War-era fallout shelter — by no means uncommon at the time — which he later expanded into what he described as a work space when he took possession of the family home. According to city records, code compliance inspectors visited Del Rio's house in 2008 and 2009 in response to neighbors' complaints about holes. In 2009, records show, he built a retaining wall that he said also elicited a complaint. Del Rio's description of his questioning by police and city officials in May 2010 suggests that they thought they might have another "Unabomber" on their hands. They questioned why he was shirtless and his hair was messed up. His response was that he had been awakened at 7 a.m. on a Saturday. City crews also found military memorabilia, inoperable hand grenades and a collection of about a dozen firearms in the home."

Quote :

"Del Rio also said officials concreted in the basement, fenced and locked the perimeter of the home and removed utility meters, making the house, in its current state, uninhabitable. The suit says that at the time of the seizure, Travis Central Appraisal District records put the house's reasonable fair market value at upward of $172,000."

http://www.statesman.com/news/local/man-sues-city-over-seizure-of-house-with-2345041.html

TLDR:

-Old dude has an underground shelter, hold over from Cold War era - uses it as storage/workshop
-City of Austin suspects he's a terrorist, shows up with SWAT and seizes his home
-Detains him for questioning for 10 hours
-City fills in the bunker with concrete, sends the guy a bill for it

The fuck?

[Edited on May 10, 2012 at 11:48 AM. Reason : ]

5/10/2012 11:46:12 AM

You're not allowed to have bunkers anymore

5/10/2012 11:48:24 AM

his first problem was not keeping it secret. When shit goes down, you don't want to have to put down your neighbors when they want access to YOUR bunker.

5/10/2012 11:49:38 AM

I'm curious what about these holes caused the neighbor to bitch. Did his backyard look like this?

5/10/2012 11:49:42 AM

Wierd.

5/10/2012 11:53:01 AM

Well they did find a couple of empty 55 gallon barrels and some batteries. Probably enough to land him a weapons of mass destruction charge.

5/10/2012 12:01:32 PM

rifuckingdiculous

5/10/2012 12:04:02 PM

I am kind of torn on this, if he dug that deep without pulling any permits, inside a subdivision, he had to figure he was going to run afoul of something.

The city could have given him an opportunity to get engineers letters saying it was sound before filling it with concrete though.

5/10/2012 12:10:59 PM

Quote :

"Round Rock structural engineer Jeffrey Tucker, whom Del Rio hired when he was putting in the 9-foot concrete and steel rebar retaining wall, said he inspected the wall and the rest of the house in 2009. "It appeared it was structurally safe," Tucker said Monday. "I did not see anything that indicated it would fall in." The Texas Constitution says "no person's property shall be taken, damaged or destroyed without adequate compensation being made, unless by the consent of such person.""

5/10/2012 12:11:56 PM

k, i guess the city was just being assholes.

5/10/2012 12:12:30 PM

regardless, nothing in this situation requires these strong armed tactics

[Edited on May 10, 2012 at 12:14 PM. Reason : .]

5/10/2012 12:13:27 PM

Quote :

""I've gotten the runaround. I think they want the property. Condemning it is a cheap way to get it.""

This.

5/10/2012 12:32:48 PM

man, fuck the police

5/10/2012 12:34:50 PM

If they city wants that property they are smoking crack, look at the pictures. Unless they need the land for a particular purpose the city has no use for that property.

5/10/2012 12:38:47 PM

Quote :

"-City fills in the bunker with concrete, sends the guy a bill for it"

Haha, anyone else here see the movie "Brazil"?

5/10/2012 12:50:41 PM

Quote :

"City fills in the bunker with concrete, sends the guy a bill for it"

scumbag Austin

5/10/2012 12:54:03 PM

He should get a few estimates and then sue the city for the cost of chiseling out the concrete.

5/10/2012 12:55:40 PM

So what's the city's side of this store? I imagine they're not fucking with this guy for the fun of it...and yeah they don't want his property.

5/10/2012 1:11:40 PM

I would love to see the disclosures if you tried to sell that place.

"house sits atop $90,000 worth of concrete"

5/10/2012 1:26:08 PM

^^all militarized up and nothing to do?

^solid foundation





[Edited on May 10, 2012 at 1:31 PM. Reason : b]

5/10/2012 1:30:27 PM

But we can trust the government!

5/10/2012 1:33:56 PM

Quote :

"and yeah they don't want his property."

Don't be so sure. Just for argument's sake if they've got a revitilization project going on in the area and he's the only one keep tax values down they might not want his property but they may have financial incentive to get him out of there. Usually neighbors in shitty areas don't complain.

5/10/2012 1:35:25 PM

Quote :

"solid foundation"

i lol'd

5/10/2012 1:38:47 PM

Quote :

"they've got a revitilization project going on in the area"

do they? if they did don't you think this man would know, and mention it?

Quote :

"Usually neighbors in shitty areas don't complain."

Unless his house is exceptionally shitty, and/or he's an exceptionally shitty neighbor.

5/10/2012 1:44:20 PM

Never underestimate how petty and vindictive minor bureaucrats can be. The city could have done all this simply because the old man pissed them off.

-----------------------------

Quote :

"Usually neighbors in shitty areas don't complain."

Crabs in the bucket.



[Edited on May 10, 2012 at 2:01 PM. Reason : .]

5/10/2012 1:52:42 PM

I'm going to call swat to raid my neighbors houses if I ever have a problem with em....

militarized raid first, ask questions later is what i like to say.

5/10/2012 1:54:23 PM

Quote :

"all militarized up and nothing to do"

5/10/2012 2:08:27 PM

Quote :

"-Old dude has an underground shelter, hold over from Cold War era - uses it as storage/workshop -City of Austin suspects he's a terrorist, shows up with SWAT and seizes his home -Detains him for questioning for 10 hours -City fills in the bunker with concrete, sends the guy a bill for it"

Yeah I'm sure they showed up with a SWAT team, right off the bat. That sounds totally accurate.

5/10/2012 2:09:27 PM

Hell of a deal

5/10/2012 2:10:47 PM

He probably got tired of being hassled and told the building inspector to fuck off. Building inspector condemns the property. Cops no longer need a warrant to raid the house. Happens all the time.

5/10/2012 2:12:04 PM

This article has a few more details.

http://www.statesman.com/news/local/man-who-dug-space-under-home-sues-city-740829.html

5/10/2012 2:12:10 PM

Quote :

""He used car struts and welded them into the basement walls as supports, and empty car batteries as cinder blocks," Kaplan said. "Everything had a plan — he was never just digging to dig.""

5/10/2012 2:14:39 PM

Did he have a permit?

5/10/2012 2:15:48 PM

Quote :

""The City has not been able to identify any permit records indicating construction of a bomb/fallout shelter was ever authorized for 2006 Canterbury," Martinez wrote. "So far as we are aware, this is the first case involving a Code Compliance complaint where the property owner has contended subsurface excavation is related to a bomb shelter.""

5/10/2012 2:16:50 PM

He should've just hit the 'V' key on his keyboard to salvage the bunker and get 75 minerals back.

5/10/2012 2:17:38 PM

Something tells me there were lots of bomb shelters built in the 50s without anyone bothering to pull a permit.

5/10/2012 2:17:42 PM

Quote :

"Did he have a permit?"

He built it during the cold war

Quote :

"Austin Government Officials Seize Man’s Home because he had a Bunker Early one Saturday morning, 70-year old retired Air Force reservist and former state employee Joe Del Rio was awoken by a knock on his front door. It was the city of Austin’s local code enforcement team. One of the agents told Mr. Del Rio that he needed to speak to him right away. After getting dressed Mr. Del Rio went and opened his front door. He was immediately bum rushed by the Austin Police Department’s SWAT Team and then detained and interrogated for over 10 hours. What was this 70-year old mans crime? Bunker Bomb Shelter DoorIt seems that the Mr. Del Rio had an underground bunker, and apparently in Austin, Texas that enough to have the SWAT team storm your home and hold you at gun point. The bunker in question was previously built as a bomb shelter during the cold war. Mr Del Rio had recently renovated part of the old fall out shelter and had been using it as a makeshift workshop. http://offgridsurvival.com/governmentofficialsseizebunkerhome/ Link contains video"

I posted this in soapbox a couple days ago. There's a video in the link of the man and his house

[Edited on May 10, 2012 at 2:21 PM. Reason : .]

5/10/2012 2:17:52 PM

Dur that was after like 10 visits by code compliance officers

Chronology of East Austin bunker

2008

Aug. 8 - City receives first complaint regarding a "large hole" under the driveway at 2006 Canterbury St. The owner told a city investigator he was building a handicap ramp.

2009

Sept. 30 - City receives complaint that a large hole on the property had been filled with water.

Oct. 7 - Investigator visits 2006 Canterbury and is told by the owner that he is filling a sinkhole and building a retaining wall. Owner receives a warning notice for working without a permit, and a stop work order is posted.

Oct. 12 - City approves a site plan exemption requiring a building permit for the property.

Oct. 23 - After the city finds no building permit has been issued, an investigator visits property, finds no one at home.

Dec. 11 - Follow-up inspection. Owner told he needs to obtain a building permit.

2010

Jan. 6 - Follow-up inspection. Appears no more work has been done.

March 25 - Follow-up visit. No one at home; investigator leaves card.

March 26 - Phone call to owner. No answer; investigator leaves message.

April 27 - Follow-up visit. No one at home; investigator leaves card.

April 28 - Owner contacts city; inspection scheduled.

May 4 - Inspection finds extensive excavation beneath house.

May 8 - Follow-up inspection. Administrative search warrant issued.

May 13 - Follow-up inspection. Notice of violation posted.

5/10/2012 2:21:55 PM

The swat team was obviously totally necessary in this situation....meeting a non violent citizen's disobedience with a crushing wave of military force protects us.

5/10/2012 2:25:53 PM

Do we have video of this SWAT team in action that morning?

Perhaps the old man is embellishing...

5/10/2012 2:26:39 PM

He seems very believable. Sounds like someone just had it out against him.

poor guy.

5/10/2012 2:26:40 PM

5/10/2012 2:31:34 PM

I mean it seems like finding 19 firearms and a grenade in a house would be par for the course in Texas.

5/10/2012 2:32:45 PM

http://www.infowars.com/austin-steals-elderly-veterans-house-for-crime-of-having-fallout-shelter/

Quote :

"It yanked the meter off the house, making it uninhabitable. But this was not the end of Mr. Del Rio’s nightmarish ordeal. The city then condemned the house and took possession of it without paying a single cent in compensation. The elderly Vietnam War veteran was handed over to Adult Protective Services since he is a senior citizen and made homeless, thanks to the government of Austin."

What is all that true?

What would their justification be for pulling off the meter? Condemned his house after the supposedly made it safe? Did they condemn it because he never paid the concrete bill?

I don't really trust that article...but it seems we are missing some details.



^ that grenade was inert...i would assume that's legal. And it sounds like the guns were legal or they woulda made a big deal about it.

5/10/2012 2:33:23 PM

They condemned the house so police could search it.

5/10/2012 2:34:37 PM

That makes no sense. They had a warrant to search the house.

5/10/2012 2:35:57 PM

swat team just needed some exercise...Like taking your dog for a quick walk around the block to expend some energy

5/10/2012 2:40:34 PM

Almost nothing in this country is as overused as SWAT teams. Only 20 years ago only a handful of cities had SWAT teams. Now every small city has one. Every year the number of times a SWAT team is used goes up despite the continued decline in violent crime.

Rather than just staking out a property and arresting someone when they leave or as they come home from work police choose to execute raids. It happens all the time, it puts innocent people in danger and puts police in danger. It used to be that sending in SWAT to facilitate an arrest was the last resort, now it's the preferred method for everything from code violations to marijuana grows to murder. Doesn't matter, send in SWAT.

Is it any surprise that you can quite literally read about a botched raid at least weekly and somebody's dog getting shot daily?

5/10/2012 2:47:59 PM

additional pics and chatter here: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2881689/posts

5/10/2012 2:49:45 PM

You call it a bunker.

I call it a sweetass basement.

5/10/2012 2:53:34 PM