A financial guru and landlord is under fire after he let his apartment building descend into a mold and rodent-infested hellhole where a three-year-old died after falling eight stories from a faulty window.
When FTW Investments, led by Parker Webb, took over Independence Towers in 2020, the place was still a good place to live, resident Daisha White told KCTV 5.
Throughout his tenure, which ended in May, residents say their homes became overrun by mold, have holes in the ceilings that let rodents in, and that the building fell apart.
Last month, a three-year-old boy, Titus, died after falling from the eighth floor through a faulty window, the local outlet said. His parents Moses Lee Bass and Destiny Leeann Randle were charged with felony first-degree endangering of the welfare of a child.
'Would you allow your family to live in conditions like these? If not, why are you forcing mine to,' tenant Steve West said at a KC Tenants rally on Tuesday.
When FTW Investments, led by Parker Webb (pictured), took over Independence Towers in 2020, the place was still a good place to live, resident Daisha White said. His tenure over the building ended in May after a judge appointed Trigild, Inc. as the receiver of the property
Last month, a three-year-old boy, Titus, (pictured) died after falling from the eighth floor through a faulty window
West moved into the building with his daughter and wife eight years ago after they couldn't afford their rental home anymore. Now their apartment has peeling drywall, water damage, mold, and rust covering their bathtub.
White's apartment has a hole in the ceiling that lets in bugs and rodents. The situation is so bad that she sleeps with the lights on to try and keep them at bay. Her dresser can't be used anymore because of mouse droppings and she has a gapping hole in the ceiling that's been there for three years, she told KCTV 5.
'I no longer sleep with my lights off in my house,' White told the outlet. 'I have to sleep with the lights on in my house, just so they will hide a little bit, and I’m not smacking them off me.'
She moved into the apartment after getting a divorce six years ago and said she 'dreamed about the life I would create with my daughter now that were safe and in a stable place,' she told The Kansas City Star.
Residents say their homes are overrun by mold, have holes in the ceilings that let rodents in, and the building is falling apart. Residents have also been subjected to a dangerous arson attempt (pictured), but no one knew the building was on fire because the building-wide system is 'broken'
Tenants describe the nightmare conditions they have been enduring, including gaping holes (pictured) that let in vermin
West moved into the building with his daughter and wife eight years ago after they couldn't afford their rental home anymore. Now their apartment has peeling drywall, water damage, mold, and rust covering their bathtub
Residents have also been subjected to a dangerous arson attempt, but no one knew the building was on fire because the building-wide system is 'broken.'
'No one heard the fire alarm go off,' Krystal Crawford said at the rally.
Resident Destiny R. Kley, 22, started the June fire and was charged with arson. The large fire displaced 27 out of the 123 units in the 11-story building, the local outlet reported. No one was injured.
Kley started the second-floor fire after her husband was arrested for domestic violence and she drank a bottle of vodka to soothe her soul before becoming angry and destroying her home.
She told investigators she poured cleaning fluid on the kitchen floor and around the stove and then went and sat on the couch, where she intended to be when the apartment went up in flames.
Now, residents have had enough and are demanding their new management company, Trigild, fold to their list of expectations, which include working central air conditioning, improvement of the HVAC and plumbing systems, and more (pictured: rusted vent)
Residents began joining the union in March after they went without hot water for two weeks (pictured, a rusted tub)
Now, residents have had enough and are demanding their new management company, Trigild, fold to their list of expectations, which include working central air conditioning, improvement of the HVAC and plumbing systems, and employing a maintenance person who can fix their homes in a timely manner, they told KCTV 5.
They are also seeking to receive new lease agreements with the management company that will guarantee them zero retaliation against those who joined the union.
Residents began joining the union in March after they went without hot water for two weeks, KCTV 5 reported. They went another eight days without hot water at the beginning of August.
In February, Fannie Mae - federal loans for affordable housing - accused Webb's company of not keeping the building in the condition outlined in the loan, and in May, a judge appointed Trigild, Inc. - a San Diego-based company - as the receiver of the property, the outlet said.
Trigild is the property's third management company in six years, according to The Star.
Trigild provided residents with portable air conditioning units as a temporary fix, but it has caused their electricity bills to skyrocket.
In February, Fannie Mae - federal loans for affordable housing - accused Webb's company of not keeping the building in conditions outlined in the loan, and in May, a judge appointed Trigild, Inc. - a San Diego-based company - as the receiver of the property
His parents Moses Lee Bass (left) and Destiny Leeann Randle (right) were charged with felony first-degree endangering of the welfare of a child
White's bill went from $42 to $170 and the Wests' bill was $270 and they said they had to sleep in the living room if they wanted to feel the cold air, they told The Star.
White, who is the leader of the building's union, said it's 'not right that I should be in a position where I'm expected to hold up my end of the contract, and yet the owner, management, they're not expected to hold up their end.
'I feel like they're pissing on us and telling us it's raining.'
The rally on Tuesday was to demand VP Nancy Daniels and Trigild return to the bargaining table to help improve conditions.
Daniels allegedly agreed to fix the fire alarm system, but residents said that's not done and they haven't been able to get in contact with her since June 20, when she met with unionized tenants.
Roughly 60 percent of tenants are unionized, according to The Star. West claimed Daniels has verbally threatened to evict unionized residents, he told the outlet.
Webb, who lives in a modest $380,000 home (pictured) in the city, was asked to step down from the board of reStart, a housing nonprofit, alongside his colleague, Logan Freeman, last year after they were accused of being 'slumlords'
'We need Ms. Daniels to come meet with us again and take responsibility for how she has treated our homes, and take us seriously, as we take our homes seriously,' West told The Star.
'They take our rent and force us to live in homes that could kill us,' Crawford said.
Tenants are considering withholding rent.
Webb, who lives in a modest $380,000 home in the city, was asked to step down from the board of reStart, a housing nonprofit, alongside his colleague, Logan Freeman, last year after they were accused of being 'slumlords,' according to The Star.
DailyMail.com has contacted FTW Investments and Trigild for comment.
