An Aurora judge has delayed the trial of Zev Baumgarten, the owner of a controversial apartment complex supposedly taken over by Venezuelan gangs, and will give him until February 14 to resolve dozens of charges stemming from outstanding code violations, according to court documents.
According to records from the Aurora Police Department, Baumgarten is the owner of an apartment complex at 1568 Nome Street, Fitzsimons Place, that was shut down by the city on August 13 for outstanding code violations dating back to 2020, including rat infestations, backed-up sewage and pile-ups of trash. Hundreds of residents were evicted in the process.
Baumgarten was scheduled for a jury trial in Aurora Municipal Court on August 27 to resolve 81 charges, and then had a second date on September 5 to deal with two dozen charges he faced related to unlawful vehicles.
According to an August 5 statement from Red Banyan, a Florida-based PR firm hired by CBZ Management, which ran Fitzsimons Place, the complex had fallen into severe disrepair because the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua had scared away its property managers. (Fitzsimons Place is also listed online as Aspen Groves, but according to Red Banyan, CBZ Management prefers to identify the property as Fitzsimons Place.)
