Montgomery County builder Fazio of unsafe Rittenhouse Club condo charged

Developer R. Bruce Fazio was charged Wednesday with fraud, deception, and risking a catastrophe for building a Norristown condominium project deemed so unsafe that a judge ordered its residents to evacuate.

Fazio, 46, of Collegeville, surrendered to Montgomery County detectives early Wednesday, according to District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman. He appeared briefly before a district judge and was freed on $50,000 bail.

The charges - more than three dozen counts - followed a criminal investigation into how Fazio built and won occupancy permits for such a flawed building as the Rittenhouse Club, which opened on Sandy Street in 2007.

"He cut every possible construction corner to save money and keep it for himself, at the same time risking the lives of all of the occupants and other persons," Ferman said.

When inspectors toured the site this year, they found hollow walls, wooden fire escapes, exposed wiring, and other hazardous conditions.

In May, a county judge condemned the building, ordering the 15 renters and eight owners - some who had paid more than $200,000 - to immediately leave.

Fazio, who has racked up millions of dollars in debts and judgments, said he could not afford the repairs. A judge ordered the municipality to pay for the remediation.

Neither Fazio nor his attorney, Leigh Narducci, could be reached for comment late Wednesday.

Ferman said Fazio was charged with one count of risking a catastrophe for each year the building was open and separate counts of reckless endangerment for each of the 23 occupants.

A 10-page probable cause affidavit from Detective John Fallon suggested that Fazio knew about the structural and safety flaws. It quoted an e-mail the developer sent in March to Ryan Schofield, one of the residents, after Schofield alerted Norristown officials to the problems.

"Ryan, your actions with the Norristown Fire Department and code departments puts the entire building in jeopardy of condemnation," the e-mail allegedly said.

Fazio was also charged with fraud for allegedly "tricking" Bridgeport resident Edwina Monagahan into swapping her home for one of his Rittenhouse Club condos. Fazio then sold her former home for $230,000, but never paid her condo mortgage, prosecutors said.

The charges make no reference to anyone else's role in approving the condo project. Ferman said the investigation was continuing.

Schofield said news about Fazio's arrest spread quickly among his former neighbors. He is still struggling to juggle a mortgage and monthly rent, he said, but added, "There is some satisfaction knowing that Mr. Fazio's day in court is coming."