Dec 21, 2006 By Christine Haines 3 min read

BROWNSVILLE – Brownsville property owner Ernest Liggett dodged the possibility of jail earlier this year, but Fayette County District Attorney Nancy Vernon says incarceration once again is a possibility. Brownsville’s solicitor, Melinda Dellarose, has sent Vernon a list of outstanding cases involving Liggett, some dating to 2002, in which the property owner has failed to pay fines or take court-ordered remedial action regarding dilapidated properties in downtown Brownsville. The list includes five cases in which Liggett has been fined a total of nearly $44,000, none of which has been paid, Dellarose said. “I will look into filing for contempt of court,” Vernon said. “The penalty would be incarceration because we can’t fine him any more.”

Numerous downtown properties owned by Liggett or one of his companies were in court for violations earlier this year on an appeal of Magisterial District Judge Ronald Haggerty’s guilty verdict. At the start of the hearing in September, Vernon said she would ask for a jail sentence in the case. When the hearing was continued in October, Fayette County Judge Steve P.Leskinen said he wasn’t certain if incarceration was an appropriate penalty for what he said is essentially an economic situation.

At the conclusion of the trial in November, Leskinen found Liggett guilty of violations at 11 properties and was fined more than $4,400.

To date, the fine has not been paid, Dellarose said.

Vernon said it’s not unusual for defendants found guilty to slip through the cracks when it comes to paying their fines.

“We do a lot of probation and parole revocations for failure to pay,” Vernon said. “This is a summary case, so that doesn’t apply.”

Dellarose said that in October 2005 Liggett was ordered by Leskinen to tear down a building at 149 High St. in Brownsville within 30 days. The building is still standing and, Dellarose said, may be accruing fines of $200 a day. The fine set by the court prior to the demolition order was $18,000. Dellarose said she isn’t certain how high the fine may be today.

“There have been no steps taken to comply with the court order. It’s remarkable. Nothing,” Dellarose said. “This is ridiculous. We’re talking four years out and nothing’s been done.”

Brownsville Borough Council is considering an amendment to its code enforcement ordinance that would require fines to be paid within 30 days of a guilty verdict in code enforcement cases. If the fines are not paid, the proposed ordinance calls for imprisonment of not less than 48 hours and not more than 30 days.