Ex-Con Landlord Sues UES Tenant For Harassment, Report Says

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — A landlord who once served prison time for attempting to force out tenants is now suing a resident of one of his Upper East Side buildings for harassing his employees, according to reports.

Landlord Gerald Musano filed a lawsuit against a rent-stabilized tenant of his building 337 E. 77th St., located between First and Second avenues, in an attempt to terminate the man's tenancy and award the landlord $2,5000 per month for the unit, the Real Deal first reported.

Musano claims that the man, identified as Aziz Souss, has harassed the landlord and his employees by calling them criminals and using other derogatory language, the Real Deal reported. The landlord's lawsuit alleges that Souss specifically called the landlord's staffers Nazis on at least one occasion, the Real Deal reported.

Souss and Musano's fight has been going on for a while. The tenant has filed numerous complaints with the city about the condition of his apartment and claims that the building superintendent has had him arrested twice, the Real Deal reported.

"The guy is going to crazy," Souss told the Real Deal. "He’s a racist landlord, he’s going crazy."

In 1986, Musano was sentenced to serve one to three years in prison after pleading guilty to threatening and harassing tenants, the New York Times reported that year. Musano and another landlord, Stephen Cardassi, hired "professional vacaters" to force tenants out of nine jointly-owned buildings in Chelsea and the Upper East Side, the Times reported.

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