A couple of brazen New York squatters are asking to be declared “heirs” to the abandoned property they have been living in after being accused of tricking a judge to get the rights to the home and terrorizing their neighbors.
Denton Gayle, 29, and Margaret Grover, 19, have been staying at the nearly $900,000 Long Island home with their baby boy and pitbull for several months, the New York Post reported.
The family — which has a Porsche parked in the driveway — was kicked out of the home in October 2023 after a concerned citizen called 911 to report that they had their son living in squalor, with no heat, electricity, or working bathrooms.
A building inspection report from the town of North Hempstead found that the home — which the Iacono family previously owned before the members died — was “unlivable.”
However, a Nassau County judge re-granted the couple access to the home after they provided documents stating that they had a rent agreement with Edward Iacono — who has been dead for years.
Gayle and Grover claimed they had signed a lease with Iacono in July and even included a fake signature for their deceased “landlord.”
Lawyers for the U.S. National Bank Association, who are working on foreclosing the home, pointed out this glaring issue, but Nassau Housing Court Judge Christopher Coschignano had already let the squatters return.
“A review of this ‘lease’ shows that it was purportedly executed by Mr. Iacono on or about June 1, 2023. However, Mr. Iacono has been deceased since 2016,” the bank’s lawyers wrote in a Tuesday letter after the couple asked to become “heirs.”
“A copy of the death certificate is enclosed herewith,” they continued. “As such, it is clear the proffered lease is fraudulent and is not valid.”
Coschignano ordered the couple to exit the property in March after initially allowing them to move back in December — and even ordering the Nassau County Police Department to help them do so — but their eviction is pending.
Every immediate Iacono family member has been dead since 2018. Legal papers that the Post viewed show Grover and Gayle requested to be “added as heirs” to the 39 Brussel Drive home despite having zero relation to the Iaconos.
The couple’s lawyer, William Igbokwe, has refuted all the claims against his clients.
“We’re not trying to play the system or asking for anything unfair, the thing they’re asking for here will allow us to be able to add our own voice and testimony to the record as the Courts try to determine what happened here and what the next steps are,” he said.
Neighbors have been begging local officials to take care of the issue, with nearly 50 residents attending a February town meeting to force them out.
“We truly believe that these people are going to be vindictive,” one resident told the Post, claiming that Gayle charged down the street at him in anger.
He “came running down the block screaming, ‘Answer me, talk to me.’ I did not want to confront him,” said the man.
“I’m scared to leave my family alone,” said neighbor Jerry Jacob.
He said at least eight neighbors have recently purchased guns to protect themselves from both the squatters and a “coincidental rash of break-ins in the area.”
“There’s no reasoning with these people,” said another neighbor. “They cause a lot of chaos; they’re disrespectful to neighbors and not concerned about safety for whoever’s around.”
“The judge screwed up, and now we have to deal with the consequences,” another concerned resident told the outlet. “The Town of North Hempstead has been totally useless.”