I’m sure Phillies owner John S. Middleton was not happy to see his son, John P. Middleton, in the news after the latter’s $6 million mansion was overrun by squatters and graffiti artists. Turns out he has two LA mansions that are abandoned and overrun. Two. So on my trip to LA to watch Penn State, I stopped by one of them to check things out for myself: 

@noshortsusa

Graffiti Mansion in LA. #philly#phillies (this is for entertainment and educational purposes, i am a professional paid actor, this is a movie set)

♬ original sound – No Shorts

When I first pulled up to the house, a security guard came over to tell us we couldn’t film close up. “Security” is a strong word because it was really like a park ranger-looking guy. There wasn’t any visible graffiti from street view, so, at the bare minimum, some of it has been cleaned up. I tried to get drone shots, but the closest I could legally fly my drone to the house was 900+ feet away. 

I don’t really see the incentive to paint over the graffiti because this house had gotten a fresh coat of paint a few weeks ago and by the end of the weekend it was trashed. There must be a thrill to spray-painting abandoned million-dollar mansions since this seems to be a trend in LA. Downtown, there’s a graffiti-covered high rise that’s now a popular tourist spot. 

The real losers in all of this are the neighbors. I saw an old guy getting his mail while I was out there. They bought prime real estate in the Hollywood Hills and now they have to deal with groups of people crowding around and vandalizing next door. In a statement to Mary K. Jacob at the New York Post, Middleton apologized:

I would like to apologize to the people of Los Angeles, and especially to my neighbors. What’s happened to the two properties I own is unacceptable, and no matter what caused it, I own the houses.