Past Admissions Officer Facing Rent Board Charge

A former senior admissions officer faces criminal charges for obstructing justice in conjunction with defrauding the Cambridge Rent Control Board.

Keith W. Light--who served last semester as a first-year proctor in Straus Hall--failed to appear at a criminal hearing in Cambridge late last year and last month moved to Palo Alto, California. Light now works for the Stanford Fund, the endowment organ of Stanford University.

The rent board charged Light last April with providing false testimony to the board while under oath, a violation of Section 12c of the Rent Control Act of 1976.

Rent control officials said yesterday that Light tried to trick a board inspector into believing that he and Dr. Daniel S. Harrop lived at 14 Mt. Auburn St., when the residence was in fact used to house the Harvard branch of Sigma Chi, a national fraternity.

Harrop, a Rhode Island psychiatrist and Sigma Chi alum who owned the building until last year, could not be reached for comment for this article. Light, also a Sigma Chi alum, acted as Harrop's agent in buying the property.

The rent board in April found Harrop guilty of illegally evicting two Harvard undergraduates a year after buying the two-bedroom house in order to rent it to Sigma Chi.

Under state law, new owners of rent-controlled units may evict tenants to occupy the residence themselves. But they may not evict tenants simply to rent the residence to other tenants.

Harrop and Light were both charged with lying to the board, but Harrop settled with the city last May. He agreed to make payment to the Cambridge Affordable Housing Trust Fund, according to Patricia A. Cantor, the rent board's general counsel.

"We applied for a criminal complaint against Keith Light as well," Patricia A. Cantor, the rent board's general counsel, said yesterday. "He defaulted, which means he didn't show up for the hearings".

"It's part of the criminal system now," Cantor added.

According to the Middlesex County District Attorney's office, criminal complaints are filed with the Cambridge Police Department. If Light were apprehended for any offense, however slight he would also face the rent board's criminal charges.

Cantor expressed surprise when she learned that Light had moved to California.

"It's obvious now why he defaulted," she said. "He's not in our jurisdiction. There's a good chance if he just stays in California he will avoid enforcement in Massachusetts."

The counsel said that violation of the Massachusetts rent control act is not an extraditable offense.

A Three-Year Battle

The rent board's criminal complaints are the culmination of an ongoing, three-year crusade by Doina

I. Contescu '89 and Kincade Dunn, the twoformer undergraduates evicted from 14 Mt. Auburn.

Harrop, who lives in Providence, R.I., is onthe national board of trustees of Sigma Chi. Hebought the house, sight unseen, on April 13, 1992,after Light inspected the property, according torent board records.

Contescu said she became suspicious after Lightinspected the property. A real estate agent toldher she would have to move because Light, then afirst-year proctor in Canaday, would occupy thehouse himself.

"We thought, He gets housing on campus, why ishe trying to move in?" Contescu said. "We thoughtthat didn't sound right."

She said she found out from friends at theCollege that Richard T. Antonino '92 and DallasWrege '92, two Sigma Chi members planned to occupythe house instead of Light.

Contescu insists that she would have moved outif Harrop had intended to occupy the house. "IfDr. Harrop had really planned to move in, we wouldhave moved out because that's his right," shesaid.

At an April 1992 rent board hearing--the firstof four--Harrop testified that he planned to moveinto the house in the summer. Wrege and Antoninoasserted they had no plans to move into 14 Mt.Auburn, and the rent board granted Harrop aneviction certificate in November 1992.

During the hearing process, the tenants wereallegedly subjected to intimidation and harassmentby the would-be occupants. Dunn said yesterdaythat she and Contescu received arson threats andunwanted subscriptions to over 30 magazines. Shesaid Harrop even filed a change-of-address form,routing her mail to a Sigma Chi chapter house inCalifornia.

But despite an appeal from Contescu and Dunn,the board reissued an eviction notice April 30,1993, and the two women moved out by the end ofJune. Two days later, they said, Light and twoSigma Chi members moved furniture into the house.

Dunn, who now lives in Boston, then moved to anapartment near Mt. Auburn St. Three months afterbeing evicted, Dunn "crashed" a Sigma Chi party ather former her home that October.

Dunn, who said she studied English for twoyears as a Harvard undergraduate, took photographsof fraternity paraphernalia and the two bedroomsin the house. "I just snapped pictures and then Ileft," Dunn said.

She mailed the pictures to the rent controlboard, aided by the Tenant Advocacy Project (TAP).TAP is a free legal service run by Harvard LawSchool students.

The rent board reopened the case in December1993.

Contescu and Dunn said yesterday that they aresuing Harrop, Light and the Sigma Chi nationalorganization for more than $300,000 for "emotionaldamages."

Not Even close'

The rent board ruled in favor of Contescu andDunn, saying Harrop's case was "not even close."

"His entire occupancy is a sham, calculated forthe sole purpose of defrauding the rent controlboard," wrote James H. Packer, assistant counselto the board.

The board found Light guilty of deceiving aninspector sent to the house.

The board said Light, in trying to fool itsinspector, "changed into his bathrobe to appearthat he had just woken up" and even hung a diplomaawarded to Dr. Harrop on one bedroom wall. Theboard found Light to be "intimately involved inall aspects" of the case.

Light's and Harrop's case collapsed when SigmaChi members Dheeraj Kunchala '94 and Jeffrey J.Rohde, a Chemistry Department researcher, concededunder oath that they lived, without Light orHarrop, at 14 Mt. Auburn.

In a highly critical brief, Packer wrote:"Keith Light's actions with regard to thisauthorized deception are not only illegal, but aremorally despicable."

"In his role as alumni advisor and mentorto....Sigma Chi, he is actively and overtlyteaching these undergraduates that it is all rightto lie and cheat and break the law," Packercontinued.

"Keith Light, through his overt actions, hasobstructed justice and governmentaladministration," Packer concluded. "It is stronglyrecommended that the board refer this case to itsgeneral counsel for criminal prosecution."

The board also found Harrop's entire testimonyto be false. "Dr. Harrop brazenly, blatantly,repeatedly and consistently committed perjuryduring this hearing," Packer wrote. "Virtually hisentire testimony was perjurous."

The board agreed. "It's one of the mostegregious situations of lying to the board thatI've encountered in my 12 years there," Cantorsaid yesterday.

"The consequences, because the tenants wereactually evicted, were particularly troublesome tothe board," Cantor added. "People really losttheir homes because of the scheme that Dr. Harropand Mr. Light were involved in."

In addition to recommending criminal chargesagainst Light and Harrop, the board ordered thedoctor to evict the fraternity and offer Dunn andContescu the right to re-occupy the house.

Harrop chose to sell the house at a lossinstead.

Grossly Overblown'

Light did not return repeated messages, leftover two days, at his office at Stanford or at hisresidence in Palo Alto. He visited the Harvardundergraduate admissions committee this weekend,but did not return calls to his Byerly Hall voicemail account, which is still active.

Harrop did not return multiple messages left athis Pawtucket, R.I. practice and at his residencein Providence.

An unidentified man answering the phoneyesterday at Harrop's residents said the doctordid not live at that number.

Representatives of Sigma Chi did not returncalls made to their national headquarters inEvanston, III. The national fraternity has around150,000 members, including 7,000 to 8,000undergraduates, according to rent board documents.

Harvard does not recognize fraternities,sororities or finals clubs, according to Dean ofStudent Archie C. Epps III. "They may not conducttheir activities on campus," Epps said yesterday.

Defending Harrop is James E. Sandler, aCambridge attorney. Sandler said yesterday thatContescu and Dunn "have grossly overblown thiscase."

Sandler said Harrop was in fact "prevented bythe tenants from moving in when he wanted to." Theattorney said Harrop is appealing the board'sdecision.

But when asked whether Harrop occupied thehouse after the tenants were evicted in June 1993,he would not answer.

"If he occupied it after that point or not isirrelevant," Sandler said. "He bought a house, hedesired to live there, and the tenants impeded hisdesire to live there. He couldn't live in his ownhouse so he made other plans."

Pressed further, Sandler refused to say whetherHarrop occupied the house following the eviction."That's attorney-client privilege," he said.

Sandler said the rent board's hearing examiner"made the wrong decision," but refused to provideThe Crimson with a copy of his appeal.

Sandler said the two women "never paid a pennyof rent" during their 14-month tenancy underHarrop.

Contescu admitted she did not pay rent toHarrop during her tenancy, but said that she hadpaid the doctor an advance deposit of more than$3,000, which he illegally solicited in defianceof rent control laws. She said the sum was morethan enough to cover the rent, then $221 a month.

The bedrooms now rent for $360 and $349 afteradjustments for inflation, according to rent boardrecords obtained by The Crimson. Rent control iscurrently being phased out over a two year period,following a decision to abolish it in November.

Mental Health

Sandler also said he was investigating thepasts of Contescu and Dunn to defend Harrop in thetenants' civil suit.

"Both of these patients have a history ofhaving received psychiatric or psychologicaltreatment," Sandler said. He refused to givefurther details.

Upon questioning, Contescu and Dunn admitted tohaving received therapy.

Dunn said she went to the mental-servicesdivision at University Health Services while anemployee at the Kennedy School of Government. "Theanxiety and anger resulting from this can reallysend you off on a bit of a tizzy," Dunn said lastnight. "God knows, I've had the legal and moralvindication, but I really realize that [Harrop]did damage my life."

Contescu, a Romanian immigrant, said shesuffered from inadequate public housing as a childand is "very stuck on living in the same place forvery long periods of time."

"It traumatizes me if I have to move," Contescuadded. "The stress just got to me and I enteredtherapy because of Dr. Harrop and the eviction. Ithas completely turned my life upside down forthree years."

But the two tenants maintain that the issue isone of fairness and honesty. "Why should somebodytrampled over my rights and get what they want?"Contescu asked.

"Maybe this isn't the biggest, grossestmiscarriage of justice that happened to the mostunfortunate people in the whole world," Dunn said."But this was a case of injustice that happened tous, and it shouldn't have happened."

Contescu's and Dunn's civil suit, filed in June1994, seeks more than $300,000 in damages fromdiminished earnings, increased rent, therapy andemotional distress. They have already obtained anattachment, or lien, of $50,000 from Harrop's saleof the house last year. The money is held inescrow for damages, in the event that Contescu andDunn win.

A hearing will be held in Middlesex CountySuperior Court on February 28 to determine whetherthe Sigma Chi national body can be sued. A trialdate has been set for late August

I. Contescu '89 and Kincade Dunn, the twoformer undergraduates evicted from 14 Mt. Auburn.

Harrop, who lives in Providence, R.I., is onthe national board of trustees of Sigma Chi. Hebought the house, sight unseen, on April 13, 1992,after Light inspected the property, according torent board records.

Contescu said she became suspicious after Lightinspected the property. A real estate agent toldher she would have to move because Light, then afirst-year proctor in Canaday, would occupy thehouse himself.

"We thought, He gets housing on campus, why ishe trying to move in?" Contescu said. "We thoughtthat didn't sound right."

She said she found out from friends at theCollege that Richard T. Antonino '92 and DallasWrege '92, two Sigma Chi members planned to occupythe house instead of Light.

Contescu insists that she would have moved outif Harrop had intended to occupy the house. "IfDr. Harrop had really planned to move in, we wouldhave moved out because that's his right," shesaid.

At an April 1992 rent board hearing--the firstof four--Harrop testified that he planned to moveinto the house in the summer. Wrege and Antoninoasserted they had no plans to move into 14 Mt.Auburn, and the rent board granted Harrop aneviction certificate in November 1992.

During the hearing process, the tenants wereallegedly subjected to intimidation and harassmentby the would-be occupants. Dunn said yesterdaythat she and Contescu received arson threats andunwanted subscriptions to over 30 magazines. Shesaid Harrop even filed a change-of-address form,routing her mail to a Sigma Chi chapter house inCalifornia.

But despite an appeal from Contescu and Dunn,the board reissued an eviction notice April 30,1993, and the two women moved out by the end ofJune. Two days later, they said, Light and twoSigma Chi members moved furniture into the house.

Dunn, who now lives in Boston, then moved to anapartment near Mt. Auburn St. Three months afterbeing evicted, Dunn "crashed" a Sigma Chi party ather former her home that October.

Dunn, who said she studied English for twoyears as a Harvard undergraduate, took photographsof fraternity paraphernalia and the two bedroomsin the house. "I just snapped pictures and then Ileft," Dunn said.

She mailed the pictures to the rent controlboard, aided by the Tenant Advocacy Project (TAP).TAP is a free legal service run by Harvard LawSchool students.

The rent board reopened the case in December1993.

Contescu and Dunn said yesterday that they aresuing Harrop, Light and the Sigma Chi nationalorganization for more than $300,000 for "emotionaldamages."

Not Even close'

The rent board ruled in favor of Contescu andDunn, saying Harrop's case was "not even close."

"His entire occupancy is a sham, calculated forthe sole purpose of defrauding the rent controlboard," wrote James H. Packer, assistant counselto the board.

The board found Light guilty of deceiving aninspector sent to the house.

The board said Light, in trying to fool itsinspector, "changed into his bathrobe to appearthat he had just woken up" and even hung a diplomaawarded to Dr. Harrop on one bedroom wall. Theboard found Light to be "intimately involved inall aspects" of the case.

Light's and Harrop's case collapsed when SigmaChi members Dheeraj Kunchala '94 and Jeffrey J.Rohde, a Chemistry Department researcher, concededunder oath that they lived, without Light orHarrop, at 14 Mt. Auburn.

In a highly critical brief, Packer wrote:"Keith Light's actions with regard to thisauthorized deception are not only illegal, but aremorally despicable."

"In his role as alumni advisor and mentorto....Sigma Chi, he is actively and overtlyteaching these undergraduates that it is all rightto lie and cheat and break the law," Packercontinued.

"Keith Light, through his overt actions, hasobstructed justice and governmentaladministration," Packer concluded. "It is stronglyrecommended that the board refer this case to itsgeneral counsel for criminal prosecution."

The board also found Harrop's entire testimonyto be false. "Dr. Harrop brazenly, blatantly,repeatedly and consistently committed perjuryduring this hearing," Packer wrote. "Virtually hisentire testimony was perjurous."

The board agreed. "It's one of the mostegregious situations of lying to the board thatI've encountered in my 12 years there," Cantorsaid yesterday.

"The consequences, because the tenants wereactually evicted, were particularly troublesome tothe board," Cantor added. "People really losttheir homes because of the scheme that Dr. Harropand Mr. Light were involved in."

In addition to recommending criminal chargesagainst Light and Harrop, the board ordered thedoctor to evict the fraternity and offer Dunn andContescu the right to re-occupy the house.

Harrop chose to sell the house at a lossinstead.

Grossly Overblown'

Light did not return repeated messages, leftover two days, at his office at Stanford or at hisresidence in Palo Alto. He visited the Harvardundergraduate admissions committee this weekend,but did not return calls to his Byerly Hall voicemail account, which is still active.

Harrop did not return multiple messages left athis Pawtucket, R.I. practice and at his residencein Providence.

An unidentified man answering the phoneyesterday at Harrop's residents said the doctordid not live at that number.

Representatives of Sigma Chi did not returncalls made to their national headquarters inEvanston, III. The national fraternity has around150,000 members, including 7,000 to 8,000undergraduates, according to rent board documents.

Harvard does not recognize fraternities,sororities or finals clubs, according to Dean ofStudent Archie C. Epps III. "They may not conducttheir activities on campus," Epps said yesterday.

Defending Harrop is James E. Sandler, aCambridge attorney. Sandler said yesterday thatContescu and Dunn "have grossly overblown thiscase."

Sandler said Harrop was in fact "prevented bythe tenants from moving in when he wanted to." Theattorney said Harrop is appealing the board'sdecision.

But when asked whether Harrop occupied thehouse after the tenants were evicted in June 1993,he would not answer.

"If he occupied it after that point or not isirrelevant," Sandler said. "He bought a house, hedesired to live there, and the tenants impeded hisdesire to live there. He couldn't live in his ownhouse so he made other plans."

Pressed further, Sandler refused to say whetherHarrop occupied the house following the eviction."That's attorney-client privilege," he said.

Sandler said the rent board's hearing examiner"made the wrong decision," but refused to provideThe Crimson with a copy of his appeal.

Sandler said the two women "never paid a pennyof rent" during their 14-month tenancy underHarrop.

Contescu admitted she did not pay rent toHarrop during her tenancy, but said that she hadpaid the doctor an advance deposit of more than$3,000, which he illegally solicited in defianceof rent control laws. She said the sum was morethan enough to cover the rent, then $221 a month.

The bedrooms now rent for $360 and $349 afteradjustments for inflation, according to rent boardrecords obtained by The Crimson. Rent control iscurrently being phased out over a two year period,following a decision to abolish it in November.

Mental Health

Sandler also said he was investigating thepasts of Contescu and Dunn to defend Harrop in thetenants' civil suit.

"Both of these patients have a history ofhaving received psychiatric or psychologicaltreatment," Sandler said. He refused to givefurther details.

Upon questioning, Contescu and Dunn admitted tohaving received therapy.

Dunn said she went to the mental-servicesdivision at University Health Services while anemployee at the Kennedy School of Government. "Theanxiety and anger resulting from this can reallysend you off on a bit of a tizzy," Dunn said lastnight. "God knows, I've had the legal and moralvindication, but I really realize that [Harrop]did damage my life."

Contescu, a Romanian immigrant, said shesuffered from inadequate public housing as a childand is "very stuck on living in the same place forvery long periods of time."

"It traumatizes me if I have to move," Contescuadded. "The stress just got to me and I enteredtherapy because of Dr. Harrop and the eviction. Ithas completely turned my life upside down forthree years."

But the two tenants maintain that the issue isone of fairness and honesty. "Why should somebodytrampled over my rights and get what they want?"Contescu asked.

"Maybe this isn't the biggest, grossestmiscarriage of justice that happened to the mostunfortunate people in the whole world," Dunn said."But this was a case of injustice that happened tous, and it shouldn't have happened."

Contescu's and Dunn's civil suit, filed in June1994, seeks more than $300,000 in damages fromdiminished earnings, increased rent, therapy andemotional distress. They have already obtained anattachment, or lien, of $50,000 from Harrop's saleof the house last year. The money is held inescrow for damages, in the event that Contescu andDunn win.

A hearing will be held in Middlesex CountySuperior Court on February 28 to determine whetherthe Sigma Chi national body can be sued. A trialdate has been set for late August