State Rep. Is Landlord Of Illegal, Dangerous Revere Apartments

REVERE (CBS) - Two Revere buildings are filled with illegal apartments. There are broken smoke alarms, doors without locks and part of the building hangs in the air with no support at all.

The apartments are 26 - 32 Yeamans Street in Revere. The city says the units are dangerous and illegal. Fire Chief Gene Doherty explains, "Some heads of the devices are missing, when our inspector went in, there were no carbon monoxide detectors, blocked egresses and numerous safety violations."

There are two buildings. Each has twelve apartments jammed into a building zoned for six. We checked with the building department and the proper permits were never pulled. What's even more troubling is that the landlord is a state lawmaker, Representative Stephen Smith (D-Everett).

Smith admits he never notified the city that he was adding the 12 extra apartments. If the city doesn't allow it, he may be responsible for finding homes for everyone who lives here. Smith says, "We will comply and fix whatever we have to."

"Whether he's a State Rep, or he's Joe truck driver, that fact that you own a multi-family, you have to be up on these things, there's an extreme liability with the people you put in the building," says Chief Doherty.

It's more than just a case of a local lawmaker breaking the rules, it's a case where lives could be at risk.

When Representative Smith was asked if he would want to live in the apartments he replied, "I wouldn't mind."