Subscriber Comments for
Santa Barbara landlord Dario Pini finds himself in hot water...

Comments in order of when they were received | (reverse order)

COMMENT 292744	2012-06-29 04:30 PM
A while back when Pini was in major trouble again, he was offered by the judge the punishment option of staying in his own dilapidated apartments or jail. He chose jail. He is landlord of legend.
COMMENT 292748	2012-06-29 04:44 PM
Isn't there some way to stop someone who is continually in violation of city laws from buying more properties? I guess not, but there should be some consideration when it comes to someone who has a long, storied history of being a terrible violator of codes and laws. Too bad it has to come to this. There are some great landlords in town.
COMMENT 292767	2012-06-29 05:58 PM
I suppose if you live in one of his properties, it would make you feel like the lowest form of life. Those tenants don't realize that he's a pimp and he's forcing you to hook in his house.
COMMENT 292770	2012-06-29 06:14 PM
He must have friends in high places, or maybe he just pays off the police. Either way, with 100+ properties in SB for 45 years, this guy is mega wealthy, and that will usually keep someone above the law.
COMMENT 292775	2012-06-29 06:28 PM
Dario Is a hard working man to say the least. He does not deserve to be slandered every chance someone gets. Could you watch over 100+ property's all the time every day/night? He is no more a pimp than a bank is. If I was him I would sue the independent...
COMMENT 292767	2012-06-29 07:11 PM
Hardworking? You're off your rocker.
COMMENT 292748	2012-06-29 07:37 PM
Hardworking? Hardly. Also, if I had 100 plus properties...well, I wouldn't. Because nobody can effectively manage that many without stuff happening that is unethical or unsavory, which is all stuff he's been accused of in the past. Also, accusations that are on record aren't slander. Slander is completely different, look it up!
COMMENT 292804	2012-06-29 08:06 PM
We need a leader, not a follower. All the middle to lower rank people don't really see the fog thru the forest. Peer pressure prevails in Santa Barbara. Those that provide continue to spend less than 50% of their time here. Soak it up and come to understand the circumstances. Homeless rule. Successful people are leaving.
COMMENT 292775	2012-06-29 08:16 PM
Yes I do know him personally. So I will stand up for him. He is a hard worker. Do you really think he was given the 100 property's? He worked his butt off for it. Guess what people if you don't want to rent from him ummm lets see...DON'T.
COMMENT 292809	2012-06-29 08:27 PM
@775 Just because someone owns a lot of property doesn't mean they're a hard worker. Just look at Carlo Gambino.
COMMENT 292814P	2012-06-29 09:58 PM
Let's not assume that just because he has worked hard to amass his empire that he is not a slumlord. I DIDN'T rent from him when the apt I looked at for possible residence, as a single young woman in college and working full time, was riddled with cockroaches! I walked around the complex and saw cockroaches on walls, in windows, on front doors! It was disgusting! When I asked the manager about the roaches, he shrugged his shoulders and just grunted something about if I didn't rent it, someone else would! I looked at another apt in another complex and was amazed by the peeling paint and the filthy carpets. That manager told me they didn't paint between tenants nor did they clean the carpets! He went so far as to tell me that I could always go to the grocery store and rent a machine if I wanted the carpets cleaned! So, who do you think owned both of these apt buildings? Yep, you figured it out! Mr. Dario Pini. I'm sorry, but he has been held accountable for these horrific living conditions. This is all fact that came out in court. Hard working does not automatically make you a nice guy.
COMMENT 292818P	2012-06-29 10:56 PM
Hard working? Everything he buys turns into a dump in the blink of an eye-including his own house. It's the one up on Mission Ridge with the million dollar view that looks like a dump.
D8VANILLA	2012-06-30 03:19 AM
@775 I agree with you. I used to live in one of his houses and did some work for him as well. He is a hard worker and very smart too. As far as his properties turning into dumps~ well, its from the people that live there. THEY are the ones that destroy places. Dario is one landlord that would rent to anyone, even if u have 8 kids and 5 dogs! No other landlord will do that and everyone needs a chance. And Darii has gotten burned many times by bad tenants, not just with not paying rent, but by destroying the place.
COMMENT 292830	2012-06-30 06:59 AM
It's all part of the city's "affordable by design, density at the core, public transportation critical mass plan. In twenty or thirty years, DP properties will have "gentrified" and become opportunities for others to buy land on the relative cheap, then to scrape the lots and build "compatible housing". I am glad at least, that DP provides housing for some of our slave labor, keeping the "minimum" in "minimum wage" which apparently is a "living wage" for a few hundred folks who call DP "Tio".
COMMENT 292809	2012-06-30 07:39 AM
@830 Yes, and while we're at it, let's pause for a moment to thank those hard-working Southerners who engaged in a 300 year long affirmative action program that gave lifetime jobs, health care, and room and board to millions of Africans from 1550-1865. Thank God for people like them, and Panini!
COMMENT 292748	2012-06-30 08:24 AM
D8Vanilla - So he doesn't turn his properties into dumps, he just rents to people who do? Please. Part of being a responsible, law abiding landlord is to responsibly rent. Having dogs in rentals is one thing (and I'm all for it) but he has a track record of renting to people who then sublet and overcrowd and cause serious noise complaints. Please don't paint this man as a saint for renting to anyone who needs a home. Greed and sainthood are not the same thing!
COMMENT 292863	2012-06-30 09:18 AM
Interesting irony. The liberal/progressive clique that won't even do anything about the "homeless" bums inhabiting the downtown area, and who think they have a moral duty to house everyone is complaining. If these troublesome tenants, who often can't rent anywhere else, were being housed in some public housing "do-gooder project" there would be few complaining. The only control any landlord has over any tenants behavior is not to rent to them in the first place (if their propensities are known or do so at the risk of being accused of "illegal profiling") or to evict them when the landlord finds out. (a slow and expensive process. Pini is in public pergatory fueled by the liberal/progressive/socialist hypocrits and the salacious and sensational seeking local media.
COMMENT 292748	2012-06-30 10:22 AM
863 how is this related to politics? It never ceases to amaze me how people will take their own viewpoints and cast a wide net over everyone else, assuming that what they say has some kind of political motivation. And they never seem to consider the idea that someone can have a different opinion without it being a liberal vs conservative issue.
COMMENT 292882	2012-06-30 10:33 AM
It is no irony that rignt wingers such as 292863 defend "entreprenurial" criminals.
COMMENT 292893P	2012-06-30 10:47 AM
This comment is not to defend Pini, but rather to address the amazing reading comprehension skills of some of the earlier posters. In particular the article clearly states that even his harshest detractors admit he works morning, noon, and night. Nice job people, nice job
COMMENT 292933	2012-06-30 12:27 PM
He only cares about his profits and that has always been the case. Period. If he works hard it's to ensure they keep coming in, at the expense of his tenants and the neighborhood.
COMMENT 292767	2012-06-30 03:02 PM
He works so hard at what? I'd really like to know. If you work hard at something then you have something to be proud of. Garbage in, garbage out.
COMMENT 293115	2012-07-01 09:46 AM
I have a good friend who lived for many years right across the street from these places on W. Mason St, and she was no stranger to the constant late-night noise. But it not only came from this house. There were plenty of houses / motels right around there that contributed. I'm not defending Pini at all. I'm just saying that if you are looking to buy property in SB then you had better do your research into the neighborhood...late-night noise in that neighborhood has been going on for many years and these aggrieved owners should have known better before they purchased that house.
COMMENT 389131	2013-03-24 07:26 PM
stop thinking that Pini rents to poor people and gives them a deal. he rents to anyone with a pulse. he is a liar and a cheat and steals whatever he can. the city needs to take away his properties and teach him a good lesson. this stuff has been going on way too long. he continue to think he is above the law. i hope the rats bite him in jail.

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