Oakland Housing Authority property manager fired, charged in $5,000 theft

"In the grand theft case, prosecutors claim that Kirby-Demanzo cleaned out a TV, a $2,000 Ottoman, a mattress and bed frame and even paintings that were painted by the alleged victim. Kirby-Demanzo allegedly told police she believed the unit had been abandoned, according to court records. (Kirby-Demanzo) was unable to provide any of the appropriate documentation, such as inventory paperwork of (the alleged victim's apartment) which a person with Tori's 20 years of property management experience would know to document"

"As this case goes through the court system, police investigators have launched a larger fraud probe over allegations that Kirby-Demanzo pocketed thousands in deposits from people who wished to rent units at the Mandela Gateway apartment complex in West Oakland, where she worked, then drafted fraudulent agreements and represented to them that they'd been accepted as tenants. Authorities say the alleged fraud victims were in units that remained listed as vacant and that the rental agreements were invalid,"

Tori Kirby-Demanzo, 38, was fired and charged with grand theft and receiving stolen property after prosecutors say she removed about $5,000 in items from a tenant's unit, including a TV, a $2,000 ottoman, a mattress, a bed frame and paintings. She told police she believed the unit had been abandoned and was unable to provide inventory or other documentation investigators say a person with her 20 years of property management experience would know to document. She was released from jail in October and has not entered a plea. Police opened a broader fraud probe alleging she pocketed rental deposits and issued fraudulent agreements at the Mandela Gateway complex; authorities say those units remained listed as vacant and the agreements were invalid. The OHA is the city's public housing authority.

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