Foreclosure-Mocking Law Firm Apologizes For Inappropriate Halloween Party
BUFFALO, N.Y. — The head of a foreclosure law firm whose employees mocked victims of the mortgage crisis at a Halloween party last year apologized Wednesday to an outraged advocate for the homeless who said the firm showed "a disgusting lack of sensitivity."
Pictures from the Steven J. Baum law firm's 2010 Halloween party turned up last week in The New York Times, which said it received them from an unidentified former employee.
The pictures show people dressed to look homeless and a sign reading "Baum Estates" near part of the office decorated to resemble a row of foreclosed homes. Another picture features a tattered green tarp over what appears to be a hovel for the homeless.
Amid an investigation by the U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan, Baum agreed last month to pay $2 million and change its practices after admitting to errors in legal filings that it blamed on the high volume of mortgage defaults and foreclosures it handles.
After denying to the Times that employees had mocked those who had lost their homes, the firm has in recent days acknowledged the costumes were inappropriate and apologized for last year's Halloween party.
"I again want to sincerely apologize for the inappropriate costumes worn by some of our employees at our Halloween Party in 2010. It was in extremely poor taste and I take full responsibility," Steven J. Baum said in an emailed statement to The Associated Press on Wednesday. "I know people were extremely offended and people have every right to be upset with me and my firm."
