Group of monks to be evicted

Staff report

CAnfield

The group of men who took over the former Canfield Colonial Motel in 2009 were served an eviction notice for failing to make purchase payments and pay taxes.

Arthur Klein, owner of the motel now called Monastery Inn, filed a complaint July 7 in Mahoning County Area Court in Canfield against the officers and members of the Syro Russian Orthodox Church who moved into the motel and purchased it through a land installment contract in November 2009, according to court documents.

The complaint alleges that since that time, the group has failed to uphold the contract and owes Klein more than $40,000 in back payments on the contract, property taxes and insurance costs.

Klein’s attorney, Duane Doyle of Twinsburg, and representatives of the Monastery Inn declined to comment Tuesday afternoon.

In early 2010, Klein, 69, was ordered by Mahoning County Common Pleas Court to cease operations at the motel at 7815 Akron-Canfield Road, as well as at the El Patio Motel, 485 W. Main St., due to his involvement in a prostitution ring there in 2009.

He pleaded guilty in January 2010 to promoting prostitution and was sentenced to two years’ probation.

As of May 23, the monastery group has paid Klein $7,500 of the $33,065 due under the contract. The group also owes $8,023.94 in property taxes, as well as $4,658 in property insurance that Klein was forced to pay, according to a letter issued May 23 by Doyle to the monastery.

They were asked to pay $40,515 by June 23, but didn’t comply and are scheduled for an eviction hearing July 29 at 9 a.m.

“The defendants, despite numerous demands, defaulted in the monthly payments and otherwise, entitling [Klein] to cancellation of the contract and possessions,” according to court documents.

A Canfield court representative said that after the hearing the group, as well as any motel residents, will be given a certain amount of time to vacate. If they fail to do so, the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Department likely would either padlock the rooms or change the locks.