By Shereen Siewert
A Wausau landlord whose property was declared unfit for human habitation due to issues ranging from cockroaches to a non-functioning heating system will avoid a felony conviction if he successfully completes a deferred sentencing agreement.
Bryan Morel pleaded no context this week to four felony counts of theft by false representation in connection with a case filed in September 2021. On Jan. 10, Circuit Judge Scott Corbett withheld a guilty finding for Morel and adopted a deferred entry of judgment as signed by all parties, court records show. All four theft charges were deferred for a five-year-period, during which Morel will be required to comply with all terms and conditions of the agreement.
Police say Morel, of Mosinee, rented apartments illegally after he tore down condemnation notices and continued to collect rent from several tenants, claiming the city’s property inspector was “harassing him.”
One tenant told police living conditions at the apartment were “the worst I ever experienced,” according to a criminal complaint filed Sept. 30, 2021 in Marathon County Circuit Court. In addition to a “major roach infestation,” the same tenant told police he repaired burst pipes last winter himself, after multiple attempts to contact Morel were unsuccessful, so other residents would have running water.
“[The tenant] was left in a lease with a landlord he could not contact, in an apartment he did not know was condemned, making repairs out of his own pocket,” a police report reads.
Another tenant told police Morel came and ripped out the shower in his apartment in July 2020 and never put in a new working unit, then shut off the power.
“[The tenant]” has been doing without since,” the report reads.
The entire building at 738 S. Third Ave., was declared unfit in February 2019, after which a property inspector posted a condemnation notice. After the declaration, official postings were removed numerous times, police said. When tenants asked about the postings, Morel allegedly told them “not to worry about it” and failed to inform residents the property was condemned.
The apartments were situated above the former Its Our Clubhouse And Yours, which Morel also owned. The Wausau City Council in 2015 voted to pull the liquor license at the bar following a shootout and other calls to police at the establishment, according to a Sept. 8, 2015 story in the Wausau Daily Herald. During the proceedings, Morell said he and his staff were “victims of those crimes,” the WDH report states. The city received 137 calls to Its Our Clubhouse in a 13-month span.
The building has since been town down.
Under the terms of the agreement, the Court will amend three of the four counts to misdemeanors and dismiss one additional charge outright if Morel follows the rules and avoids any new criminal charges in the five-year time period. Two additional charges, tampering with public notices and violating a notice of unfitness for occupation or use were dismissed. A review hearing will be held in 2027.
