PHOENIX (AZFamily)<\/b> \u2014 Arizona\u2019s top prosecutor is looking to hold a Valley apartment complex accountable after a man died in the summer heat while the air conditioning wasn\u2019t working.<\/p>\n
The medical examiner determined issues with Frank Paterniti\u2019s heart caused his accidental death, but other illnesses and heat also played a part in it.<\/p>\n
Environmental heat exposure is listed as how the injury occurred, making him one of the more than 175 confirmed heat-related deaths so far this year in Maricopa County.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was simple. He was caring. He was loving,\u201d said Allyssa Paterniti, Frank\u2019s niece. \u201cHe always called me his favorite niece.\u201d<\/p>\n
Frank Paterniti was proud to be part of a big Italian family.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was always in the kitchen making pasta and meatballs,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Allyssa lives in Cleveland. That\u2019s where she said her Uncle Frank was born and raised before he moved to Arizona 14 years ago to enjoy warmer weather year-round.<\/p>\n
The tragic irony is that the Arizona heat would later contribute to his death. \u201cI\u2019m furious,\u201d said Allyssa. \u201cIt was absolutely preventable.\u201d<\/p>\n
For the last five or so years, Allyssa said her uncle lived at the Elton Apartment Homes in Phoenix<\/a> and that\u2019s where he died in July at 66 years old. <\/p>\n \u201cYou cannot allow people to die on your watch,\u201d said Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes<\/a>.<\/p>\n Over the summer, our reporting<\/a> tipped off Mayes to concerns about a lack of working air conditioning at the complex. It went on for more than a week and during that timeframe, a pregnant woman went to the hospital and Frank died. <\/p>\n Mayes initiated legal action against the landlord, demanding that the air conditioning be fixed. \u201cThis is a big deal,\u201d said Mayes.<\/p>\n Investigators with the Attorney General\u2019s Office learned Frank was not given a portable fan while the air conditioning was out. <\/p>\n The medical examiner\u2019s report said that when he was found days after he was last seen, his apartment was 101.1 degrees and his body temperature was 106.2. <\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s unbelievable. That\u2019s not OK,\u201d said Allyssa.<\/p>\n \u201cThat ME report just demonstrates starkly why it is so important to hold the landlords accountable,\u201d said Mayes. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to send a message that if you do this, if you let this happen on your watch, you\u2019re not going to get off the hook.\u201d<\/p>\n Allyssa is grateful to know Mayes is pushing to use her uncle\u2019s case as a way to make a change while she holds on to his memory. \u201cHopefully he\u2019s at peace now and he\u2019s not in pain,\u201d said Allyssa.<\/p>\n Management at the Elton Apartments previously told Mayes that all air conditioning repairs were made and accommodations were provided to tenants, but a lawsuit could soon be coming in light of the medical examiner\u2019s findings. <\/p>\n Mayes said her team is looking at every law to see how they can hold this landlord accountable and her office is currently investigating 10 apartment complexes across the state for similar problems.<\/p>\n See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it<\/a>.<\/p>\n