Greek American Realtor Cited Over Deadly Fire in Brooklyn
Costas Bej/TNH
Eleftheria Petratos, who has owned a store by 86th St. in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn for a long time says that Bill Gerazounis is a very good man. She remembers being a customer at a restaurant he used to own.
Vasilios (Bill) Gerazounis and his company, 20-35 86th Realty, were cited for altering a residence for more than the legally-approved number of families, not providing two exits and working without a permit, city officials said. The Brooklyn building where five people died in an arson was illegally divided - and the partitions made it impossible for several victims to escape, officials said Friday. Gerazounis, whose company was fined $25,000 for each violation, claimed to know nothing about the citations. "I'm not aware of this [and] I have no idea," said Gerazounis, 66, a real estate agent on Long Island. "[The fire] was terrible. It was tragic, but one day my story will come out." The Brooklyn District Attorney's office is considering a criminal investigation against Gerazounis but no charges have been filed, according to the law enforcement sources. Five Guatemalan immigrants died in the Jan. 30 blaze.



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