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Coakley files discrimination suit against landlord

Date: 4/27/2010

April 28, 2010.

By Katelyn Gendron

Reminder Assistant Editor



WEST SPRINGFIELD -- Attorney General Martha Coakley is taking a West Springfield landlord to court for allegedly violating the state's anti-discrimination laws.

Coakley charged that Mary Anna Cosentini refused to rent a three-bedroom apartment to Maryluz Rodriguez in September 2007 because she received Section 8 housing assistance through HAPHousing in Springfield. The complaint was referred to the attorney general from the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD), which found probable cause to credit the allegations in January 2010.

"In the current economy, the need for rental or transitional housing assistance is particularly great and these programs are important as families are facing job losses and critical housing needs," Coakley said. "Landlords in Massachusetts must understand that it is illegal to refuse to rent to a person holding a Section 8 voucher or to refuse to do business with an agency administering housing vouchers."

Cosentini's lawyer Dennis Powers called the charges erroneous and maintained that his client has a 20-year track record with tenants who receive Section 8 vouchers.

"My client is very disappointed and upset about this whole allegation," he said. "It's an allegation, nothing more."

Powers added Coakley was obligated to file a lawsuit because MCAD found probable cause.

Two hundred and eighty housing discrimination cases were filed with MCAD in 2009, a decrease of 142 cases from 2008, according to Barbara Green, media liaison for MCAD. She noted the number of discrimination cases totaled more than 3,300 in 2009.

Green explained that after Rodriguez learned investigators found probable cause, she, like some MCAD clients, decided to bring the case to the attorney general as opposed to continuing with the investigative process.

The deposition filed by MCAD investigator Nomxolisi Khumalo, stated Cosentini rents to tenants with Section 8 vouchers; however, she prefers to work with the West Springfield Housing Authority and asked Rodriguez to transfer her voucher to that agency.

Khumalo wrote in his deposition, "There are genuine issues of material fact in dispute and issues of credibility regarding whether the Respondent made discriminatory statements during the course of the transaction [in September 2007] ... there is sufficient evidence upon which a finder of fact could conclude that the Respondent committed an unlawful practice ... it is more probable than not that the Respondent subjected the Complainant to unlawful discrimination."

Coakley is seeking an order prohibiting Cosentini from engaging in housing discrimination and an award of damages, attorneys' fees and costs. The case was filed in Western Division Housing Court and will be handled by Assistant District Attorney General Laurie Frankl.

Rodriguez could not be reached for comment by press time.