A loophole got him a free New York hotel stay for five years. Then he claimed to own the building

By CEDAR ATTANASIO
Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — A man who succeeded in using a New York City housing law to live rent-free in an iconic hotel has been charged with fraud after he claimed to own it. Manhattan prosecutors charged Mickey Barreto with fraud and contempt, including filing false property records. They say he forged a deed to the hotel where he started living in 2018, after a judge ruled he had tenant’s rights because he had rented a room. Barreto says he believes that the ruling gave him legal possession of the entire building. He claims that the legal maneuver wasn’t for personal gain, but to deny the building’s owners, a controversial church group, of revenue.