Mansions Used For Illegal Party Rentals

SANDY SPRINGS, GA -- Got an empty mansion? Throw a party! Some mansions that are sitting empty on the real estate market in Sandy Springs are being rented out for elaborate parties. Sandy Springs Mayor Eva Galambos wants it to stop.

The city says property managers and promoters are renting out the empty mansions to make money. The problem came to a head on Halloween.

A party at a vacant home on Powers Ferry Road was billed as an "Alpha's Gone Wild at the Haunted Mansion Costume Party." Several busloads of Georgia State University students were shuttled to the home.

Sandy Springs Police were called to the home by neighbors who were upset about the traffic and noise the party was causing. When police drove up to the house, Powers Ferry Road was filled with cars and pedestrian traffic.

Mayor Galambos said city officials had never heard of the parties until recently and have had complaints about two other mansions that had parties in the same neighborhood. "We were absolutely amazed," she said. "We had no idea that people were so desperate that this is what they would do with their property."

Police broke up the party and arrested Anthony Epps who told them he owned a property management company that was in charge of the residence. The event hired charter buses to shuttle party goers from a parking lot a mile away. Police estimate that nearly one thousand people showed up at the party. Epps told police a promotional company he hired was charging $20 per person to cover their expenses. Police say alcohol was being sold inside the home without a permit.

Police say Epps also told them he hired off-duty police officers to work security at the party. Sandy Springs police say the officers that were hired were Epps brother Briane Epps, a Rockland County Sheriff Deputy and Chief Tony Scepio of the Clarkston Police Department. "They should have known that there was no way that a party could go on like that and they should have put a stop to it," Mayor Galambos said.

Mayor Galambos says two other homes in the high end neighborhood have held similar parties and she's afraid the city might be seeing a trend. "You have these large homes that are standing empty and so the owners, the managers for the owners are trying to make some money and they cut corners and they think they're going to get away with it," she said.

The Mayor says it's a sign of the economy the city wants no part of. "Now that the word is out I don't believe people are going to want to do that anymore," she said.

The Mayor says the city will utilize existing tools to address property complaints by continuing to enforce noise, party, and parking regulations.