Small Town News

To wit: Wilt weeds and litter, dilapidated structure convictions spell sentencing date set for mid-December

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Superior property owner Glenn Audobon Wilt was found guilty Nov. 19 of 11 misdemeanor counts related to the upkeep of eight of-his sites in the town.

Wilt, 75, a professor often referred to as "Dr. Wilt," is a resident of Tempe. He also owns property in a number of municipalities in the region that have been the subject of legal problems and frequent media attention.

Wilt is perhaps best known in Superior for his stewardship of the downtown Uptown Theater. A well-known site on Main Street, Superior now is the vacant lot where the historic theater reigned in the past century as a source of entertainment for Superiorites. Under Wilt's ownership the theater sat empty for more than a decade and in later years it deteriorated and remained open to the elements due to substantial damage and because, for the most part, it lacked a roof. Deemed unsafe, the theater was demolished by the Town of Superior in August of 2008.

In March of this year, Wilt was fined a total of $800 in the magistrate court on a total of seven misdemeanor charges related to code violations on some of his Superior properties.

Neither the theater nor the March fines are related to the Nov. 19 court date. On Nov. 19, Wilt did not appear for his trial on a roster of new charges related to the eight properties. The trial had been scheduled for 2 p.m. in Superior Magistrate Court. No representative for Wilt appeared in court to speak on his behalf or explain his absence.

Judge Larry Bravo waited approximately 11 minutes. "We are supposed to start at 2 o'clock," the judge said, "and he is not here." Bravo then began the trial on the criminal charges that the eight Superior properties owned by Wilt violated a municipal code making it unlawful to maintain property that is hazardous, "to wit" (namely) that contains dilapidated structures, weeds and litter, and/or junk vehicles.

Wilt had previously had a scheduled court appearance in October but a continuance was granted to the Nov. 19 date.

Following the testimony of Superior Police Chief/Public Safety Director Lou Digirolamo under the questioning of Town Attorney Michael Beers, the court found Wilt guilty of all charges.

"We will send him a summons that he was found guilty," the judge said.

A sentencing date was set at that time for Dec. 17 at 3 p.m.; the sentence could range from $0 to $2500, Chief Digirolamo said last week.

During the trial, which took less than an hour, Beers asked Digirolamo about each of the eight properties and the charges cited. The chief was asked to pick representative photos of each site. With the exception of one site that did not have the correct photos attached to it, photos identified by the chief were entered into the record.

When questioned, Digirolamo explained how he had established that Wilt was the owner of the properties cited, when he had last seen Wilt and how the properties looked the last time he had seen them.

Charges for which Wilt was found guilty include:

Two counts of violation of the town ordinance Section 9-4-2. A that it is "unlawful to maintain property which is hazardous, to wit" weeds and litter and "to wit" junk vehicles. The location is Sunset and South Avenue, Parcel No. 105-08-043. Two counts "to wit" dilapidated structure and weeds and litter at 417 W. Main Street.

One count "to wit" dilapidated structure at 537 W. Porphyry. Two counts "to wit" dilapidated structure and weeds and litter at Pinal and Main Street, northeast corner. One count "to wit" weeds and litter at 36 N. Pinal Avenue. One count "to wit" dilapidated structure at 117 Richard. One count "to wit" weeds and litter at Lime and Magma, southwest corner. One count "to wit" weeds and litter at 534 W. Main Street. Wilt could not be reached for comment.



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