ANSONIA/SEYMOUR – A New York man was arrested Jan. 6 and charged with ten building violations across two commercial plazas in Ansonia and Seymour.
Eshagh Malekan, 71, of Mineola, N.Y., was charged with three counts of fire code violations at the Seymour Plaza on First Street, as well as seven counts of building code violations at the Maple Street Plaza in Ansonia.
Malekan was arraigned at Superior Court in Derby on Jan. 21.
According to the Ansonia arrest warrant application, one of Malekan’s tenants at the Maple Street Plaza at 27 Maple St. complained to the building department in January 2023. He said that water was leaking in through the roof and covering the floor, preventing him from accessing an electrical panel.
The property at 27 Maple Street was purchased by Maple Plaza LLC in 2008. Land records show Malekan listed as the company’s principal member.
Two inspections were carried out in April and May 2023 in response to the tenant’s complaint.
The May 2023 inspection reported that the building’s roof was in poor shape; that there were leaks throughout the building; that electrical service was faulty; and that extension cords were being used to provide power for signs and other equipment.
Carlo Sarmiento, an Ansonia Building Department official, sent a notice of unsafe structure to Malekan in June 2023 and ordered him to correct the violations.
The building department and fire marshal’s office conducted a follow-up inspection in August 2023.
The August 2023 inspection reported a failure to clean mold from the property; failure to repair holes in the roof where it had collapsed; failure to repair damaged columns and masonry walls; failure to remove flex cords on the roof used for lights; and failure to have electrical equipment inspected and repaired. Another notice of unsafe structure was sent to Malekan.
The arrest warrant application, written in December 2023, says that Malekan had not reached out to schedule a re-inspection of the property.
In Seymour, several alleged fire code violations were found during a routine annual inspection in March 2024.
The plaza on First Street, anchored by an AutoZone, was purchased by Seymour 1st LLC in 2021 for $1.2 million. Malekan is also listed as the principal member of that company.
The violations found there all concerned the fire sprinkler system. According to an arrest warrant application, the sprinklers had been in service for over 50 years and hadn’t been replaced or tested. The water flow alarm also needed repairs, the warrant says.
Deputy Fire Marshal Robert E. Rockwell ordered Malekan to correct the issues by Apr. 29, 2024. However, a re-inspection in May 2024 found that none of the violations had been corrected. An arrest warrant was written three months later.
Malekan was arrested Jan. 6.
The Valley Indy reached out to Thomas Egan, the attorney representing Malekan, for comment, but Egan said that the case would soon be transferred to another attorney and that he can’t comment.
Ansonia Mayor David Cassetti said that he wasn’t familiar with Malekan or the violations prior to the arrest. A voicemail was left for Seymour First Selectwoman Annmarie Drugonis’ office on Jan. 22.
The Ansonia arrest warrant application was written by Ansonia Chief Building Official Nicholas Behun. The Seymour application was written by Seymour Deputy Fire Marshal Robert E. Rockwell.
