Landlord says Malden building superintendent stole from tenants

By Matt Byrne, Town Correspondent

A Malden building superintendent who looked after a 22-unit complex on Lincoln Street has been accused of stealing at least $5,000 from tenants by entering their apartments and writing himself checks, the building's owner said.

So far, seven tenants have come forward alleging that the superintendent entered their apartments with a master key, wrote checks to himself with forged signatures, and then cashed them, said John Campbell, the building's owner.

Campbell said the incident capped a two-year tenure as superintendent for the man, who is not being identified because he has not yet been charged with a crime.

The superintendent was fired over a month ago for periodically asking tenants for small cash loans, a practice Campbell warned him not to do. When Campbell fired the man, he gave him a month to move out of his third-floor unit and what he called a generous severance package.

"I said, 'This is it, you're done, but I'm going to give you a nice severance,'" Campbell said. "He was alright with it."

Before he cleared out of the apartment Aug. 1, the superintendent instead spent roughly 10 days at the end of July raiding the checkbooks of residents, Campbell said.

Malden police confirmed that a detective is investigating the matter, but a department spokesman, Lieutenant Marc Gatcomb, declined to comment further.

Matt Byrne can be reached at mbyrne.globe@gmail.com.