Hotel Stockton painter sickened by mold, suit claims

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Hotel Stockton painter sickened by mold, suit claims

Stockton Record - Stockton,CA*

By Fitzgerald

Record Columnist

May 30, 2008

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For all its splendor now, The Hotel Stockton was a sick building

before its 2002-04 remodel. Now one man says it was a sick building

during the remodel.

" Ed " Cisneros, a Stockton painter, is suing Cyrus Youssefi, the

Sacramento master developer, and others involved in the project, in

Sacramento County Superior Court.

" I trusted them, " he said. " They let me down. "

Cisneros' suit claims plaintiffs knew the 1910 building was full of

asbestos, lead and toxic mold but did not issue warnings or provide

adequate safety gear.

Youssefi, for his part, says he spent hundreds of thousand dollars

ensuring the building was clean.

Cisneros, 51, is diagnosed with severe internal systemic fungal

infection.

" My body is totally saturated with these (molds). They are in all my

organs, " said Cisneros, who is virtually housebound.

Cisneros coughs up black mold. He bagged sputum for analysis; the

mold continued to grow in the bags.

" It's like three-month-old bread, " Cisneros said. " The same thing is

happening on the inside of me. "

He suffers fatigue, headaches, dizziness, difficulty concentrating,

digestive problems, abdominal pains and sensitivity to light. Also

anaphylactic shocks. " Nausea will come over me. My face feels like

cold wax. Dizziness, confusion, shaking, sweating. "

Cisneros believes his nightmare goes back to his year-plus spent

painting the Hotel Stockton.

The hotel, which closed in 1960, housed government offices until

1991. Save for a couple of small tenants, it then stood vacant for a

decade.

During its vacancy, pigeon guano, leaking pipes and moisture from

other sources activated mold - piles so big they bowed the floors,

Cisneros says.

Records from the 1990s show a remaining tenant, radio station KJOY,

fought a legal battle with the county government over the mold.

Ex-KJOY DJ Candace Hosey, 47, reached in Modesto, said a fungal

infection hospitalized her in the late '90s. She had to take a six-

month medical leave. She is still infected.

" I take a variety of medications and four different inhalers just so

I'm not totally down, " Hosey said. " It's pretty brutal. "

Late '90s inspection records also document dangerous levels of

asbestos.

Nothing was done until the county deeded the hotel to the city of

Stockton and remodeling began.

Youssefi says a hazardous-materials team cleaned out all asbestos -

and pigeon guano covering the floors an inch deep - in late 2002

before workers arrived.

The Environmental Protection Agency signed off on the building.

Otherwise, the city of Stockton would not have issued the demolition

permit, Youssefi said.

" Did I check every inch of the building and could I swear to you

unequivocally there was never a mold spot? I cannot do that, "

Youssefi said. " But, first-class consultant, EPA tests galore, clean

air, those are all documented. Those are irrefutable. "

Nevertheless, records show that in spring of 2003, a local union

boss spotted friable asbestos on the hotel's roof. State safety

authorities ordered Youssefi to take further precautions.

That was a half-year into the project. Cisneros claims the same

laxity applied to mold.

Youssefi counters that project bosses held weekly safety meetings.

If mold was a problem, they took measures.

Cisneros says the only measures taken were paper masks. Workers

constantly labored in clouds of demolition dust, he says.

A few months into the job, Cisneros says he began experiencing

headaches and fatigue. His symptoms persist.

He's not the only one. " I have a lot of shortness of breath, "

complained Malcolm Volsan, 37, a Stockton plumber. " I get headaches. "

Volsan also complained of " periodic nausea. I feel light-headed,

like I'm getting ready to faint. Usually I just I don't have the

energy level that I had before. "

Youssefi points out Cisneros filed four workers compensation claims

during his time on the job. His suit, the fifth action, could make

for skepticism about his motives.

" My injuries were injuries, " Cisneros responds.

Cisneros did not name the city of Stockton in his lawsuit because he

was not correctly diagnosed until mid-2007. By then, the deadline

for suing a public entity had passed.

He says he wants others to seek medical attention before their

infections pass the point of no return.

His is right on the edge. " I try not to think about it, " he said. " I

just hope I'll get better. "

Youssefi also pointed out that no tenant of the hotel has complained

of mold, though the building has been occupied for 31/2 years.

" The truth is going to come out, " Youssefi said.

Contact columnist Fitzgerald at (209) 546-8270 or

michaelf@....