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The most notorious squatting story in New York is taking a new twist as the “squatter” at the center of it claims to be a victim who was conned into renting the property. Brian Rodriguez, the man in question, is now demanding $18,000 to hand back the home in Flushing that he was living in. Rodriguez claims he was trying to start a “side hustle” by cashing in on the migrant crisis by filling the house with immigrants, thinking he would receive $1,000 a month from the city for each person housed there.

The strange saga began when Adele Andaloro, the legitimate owner of the $1 million, four-bedroom home in Flushing, inherited from her parents, was handcuffed by police while trying to evict Rodriguez and his subletters from the property. The squatters claimed they were subletting from someone named “Jay,” which is Rodriguez’s nickname, and were therefore entitled to stay at the home. Rodriguez now claims he was scammed into renting the home with a fake lease by a person who claimed to be a real estate broker, so he does not consider himself a squatter.

Rodriguez is demanding $18,000 from Andaloro for repairs he made to the house, including plumbing, electrical work, repainting, and cleaning. He stated that he will immediately leave the property once he receives payment for the work he has done. Andaloro did not respond to calls from The Post regarding this matter. Rodriguez expressed feeling terrible for being conned and stated that the money he spent on repairs is all he has.

Rodriguez’s troubles began when he met a man named “Ronnie Ferg” at a laundromat in Flushing who claimed to be a real estate broker and property manager. “Ferg” showed him the property, which Rodriguez then rented for $3,200 a month. No public records exist for a New York realtor named “Ronnie Ferg.” However, the immigrant housing scheme that Rodriguez thought he was getting involved in never came to fruition. Renting the rooms to locals resulted in water damage due to plumbing issues that Rodriguez was expected to fix on his own, leading to a hefty bill that he claims cost him around $25,000.

The situation escalated when Andaloro showed up at the property with a locksmith and a news crew, leading to a confrontation with Rodriguez’s subletters and her eventual handcuffing by the police. Rodriguez revealed that “Ronnie Ferg” disappeared after the incident and never spoke to him again. Subletters at the property acknowledged paying rent to someone named “Jay,” which is Rodriguez’s nickname, and another supposed realtor named David Dubon who received a fee for the transactions. Rodriguez admits that the situation has become a stalemate between him, Andaloro, “Ferg,” and the subletters.

The situation took a dangerous turn when the property was swatted, a prank in which law enforcement is falsely called to a property under claims of a dangerous situation. Rodriguez described how police surrounded the property after being told there were dead bodies inside, only to find this was false. Despite being scammed and facing a challenging situation with Andaloro and the subletters, Rodriguez expressed a willingness to rectify the situation and return the property to Andaloro. He stated he has been beaten up by the house, figuratively, and is ready to take the loss in this situation.

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