"The city did everything it could to try to notify the defendant," said Patrick Costigan, an Aurora criminal prosecution manager, in court when Baumgarten was a no-show. "The city made very diligent efforts to serve Mr. Baumgarten."
Aurora Judge Katie Allison set a new court date for Baumgarten for December 5, giving the city until then to serve him with a summons. "If we’re not successful by then, we’ll restart the process and continue our efforts," says Ryan Luby, spokesperson for Aurora. "We will continue to hold these property owners and managers accountable."
The city will try “a different mechanism for service” and “explore what options are available to us,” Costigan told the judge. “We’re not asking the court to take any action against Mr. Baumgarten today in court. We are asking the court to afford us between thirty and forty more days to figure out other ways to serve the defendant notice.”
On September 24, the city mailed copies of the summons to addresses registered to Baumgarten in Denver and Lone Tree; "That mail came back to us saying, 'no address found,'" Costigan told the court. Baumgarten has been cited for code violations connected to the Edge of Lowry, 1218 Dallas Street, and Whispering Pines, 1357 Helena Street.
According to the summons, Baumgarten is facing code violations for unlawful vehicles, failure to maintain a building and equipment, trash and debris on the premises, overgrown weeds and sanitation and structural issues at both properties.
The city also tried to mail a summons to attorney Walter "Bud" Slatkin because he represented Baumgarten in prior court cases, Costigan said. Slatkin has not responded to a request for comment.
Baumgarten has one more registered address in Brighton that the city hasn't tried, Costigan told the court. However, that address is listed as Wolz Corporate USA, which Costigan found out offers a service where "you pay $35 you can register your business for a year," he said. "We have to explore that and other avenues of service of process."
In early August, the city successfully served Baumgarten in person with a summons for charges related to his property at 1568 Nome Street. But trying to serve Baumgarten in person again "for the past thirty days has not been an option" because the city doesn't know where he is, Costigan said.
Around the time Aurora successfully served that August summons, the elusive Baumgarten began telling media through a Florida-based crisis-management PR firm that the Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua had taken over a CBZ-run apartment complex at 1568 Nome Street. That was the property where Aurora carried out an eviction action on August 11; it had been racking up citations since 2020.
Aurora was also going to close the Edge and Whispering Pines this month for code violations issued in August and September. The city delayed those closures, however, after a lawsuit was filed by U.S. Bank against CBZ, for its failure to keep up with loan payments; that forced Baumgarten to give those properties to a third-party receiver, according to BusinessDen. The 18th District Court of Colorado appointed the California-based Kevin Singer, who runs Receivership Specialists, to take over the apartments, which CBZ had used as collateral for its loans.
Baumgarten's Venezuelan gang claims began after the City of Aurora decided to shut down 1568 Nome Street for code violations like rat infestations and trash pileups, and evict its nearly 200 residents. He claimed that he and his employees had been scared away by threats from TdA members, and that's why the complex had fallen into severe disrepair. But some of the citations predated the appearance of Venezuelan migrants in Aurora.After some time, we noticed a rise in crime and tenant complaints. The most alarming moment occurred when our local CBZ representative was attacked at the end of 2023.
— Cbz Management (@CbzManagement) October 11, 2024
He had gone to inspect a recently vacated three-bedroom apartment (a rare occurrence for such a large unit)… pic.twitter.com/VkzMwmlixA
The Edge of Lowry was the setting for a now infamous viral video captured on August 18 by then-resident Cindy Romero. It caught six men in the halls with handguns and rifles, and became the basis for national and international headlines claiming Aurora was taken over by gangs. Romero has since moved out.
On July 29, the Aurora Police Department arrested four men in connection with a July 28 attempted murder at 1568 Nome Street. On September 12, APD arrested one person from the video at the Edge of Lowry, and issued warrants for the other five men. Two of the men arrested for the Nome Street incident had document connections to TdA, but none of the men involved in the Edge of Lowry incident has confirmed TdA ties, according to the APD.
In early August, the APD and Mayor Mike Coffman denied that Venezuelan gangs were a problem in Aurora, with Coffman calling Baumgarten and CBZ "out-of-state slumlords" on local TV.
However, Aurora City Councilmember Danielle Jurinsky went on Fox News and Dr. Phil Primetime to argue that Venezuelan gang members who'd come to the metro area for the City of Denver's free services had taken over CBZ's buildings.
Jurinsky's support for Baumgarten caught the attention of former President Donald Trump. He mentioned the city in his September 10 debate and then came to the "war zone" of Aurora on October 11 to campaign with promises of a closed border, mass deportation and the death penalty for migrants who kill United States citizens. He even delivered his speech flanked by two mugshots of Venezuelans arrested for the attempted murder at 1568 Nome Street. Both Jurinsky and Romero spoke that Trump rally.
On October 11, the same day Trump came to Aurora, CBZ Management posted on X videos of its "local CBZ representative" in Aurora being brutally attacked by a group of men at one of its properties along with photos of his bloodied face.
Baumgarten avoided a jury trial in August on the 1568 Nome Street code violations by agreeing to sell his property. If he can't sell it by February, then Baumgarten will have to appear at the Aurora Municipal Court on February 14 for the citations on that property.
The broker selling 1568 Nome Street, Jason Hornik, says that he plans to start advertising it this week and collecting bids in November. The property won't be advertised with a starting bid, Hornik says, adding that he's open to any offers from interested buyers.
CBZ Management and Red Banyan, the PR firm hired by Baumgarten, have not responded to a request for comment.
"Police departments and the justice system as a whole must rely on admissible evidence, not hearsay, rumors and fragments of information," the City of Aurora said in an October 23 statement issued after Baumgarten's no-show ."The city, including APD, has remained consistent in responses on this matter. The Aurora Police Department has been and continues to investigate criminal gang activity in the city whether it stems from TdA or any other criminal organization."
"The city has made very diligent efforts to serve Mr. Baumgarten," Costigan told the court. "We will try to figure out a way to get these summons in the hands of the defendant before the next court date."
So Zev, if you're out there, Aurora is looking for you.
