Hadid's Bel Air Mega-Mansion Should Be Torn Down, Prosecutors Say

LOS ANGELES, CA — The infamous Bel-Air mega-mansion that towers above the community unfinished due to legal battles, neighbor protests and an FBI investigation, should be torn down, Los Angeles city prosecutors said Wednesday. It's the latest twist in the saga of the controversial mansion built by real estate developer Mohamed Hadid.

Until recently, city officials had been working with Hadid to try to get the building in line with city codes but a structural engineer torpedoed that plan, finding that key structures supporting the building were deficient, according to The Los Angeles Times. But last week, City Attorney Mike Feuer and his prosecutors stepped up their demands, saying that a structural engineer had found that key structures supporting the building were deficient, according to The Times

Los Angeles city prosecutors are calling for the megamansion to be torn down to its foundation, concluding it can't safely be brought in line with city codes.

In a filing, they asked a judge to stiffen the probation conditions for Hadid, requiring him to continue demolishing the building and leave only the parts of the foundation that had been driven into the ground.

The next hearing in the criminal case is scheduled for December. The new push from prosecutors is welcome news to neighbors have been suing to try to get Hadid to tear the building down entirely, arguing that the unfinished mansion puts them at risk downhill.

Hadid pleaded no contest two years ago to criminal charges tied to the mammoth, unfinished building, which prosecutors said was much bigger than city rules allowed and included bedrooms, decks and even an IMAX theater that the city said were never approved. He was ordered to pay fines, do community service and come up with a plan to stabilize the hillside.

City officials have repeatedly said that their goal was to bring the building in line with city rules. Hadid was given a chance to make the mansion meet city codes and has torn down parts of the massive house over time.

In their latest court filing, however, city prosecutors cited concerns about the piles -- a type of column that extends into bedrock to support a structure -- under the mansion at 901 Strada Vecchia Road.

Those vertical structures were "not drilled to the full depths specified" in construction drawings and "do not comply with the minimum reinforcing requirements of the building code," structural engineer Carl H. Josephson wrote in a letter to an attorney representing Hadid, who had hired him to examine the building foundation.

The findings echo concerns raised by a former construction manager at the Bel-Air project, Russell Linch, who said in a declaration that the piles should have been driven deeper and have "less rebar than the minimum required" under L.A. codes. Linch said he believed the house is unsafe and should be demolished.

Attorneys representing the Bel-Air neighbors argued this week that the latest findings by Josephson confirm that there is a "life safety issue" because the piles do not comply with code requirements for "earthquake resistance." They complained that Hadid had stonewalled them on producing those findings and tried to hide their severity, The Times reported.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.