Gigi & Bella’s Dad Facing Jail Time Over Bel-Air Mansion Fiasco
May 11 2017, Published 9:55 p.m. ET
Gigi and Bella Hadid’s millionaire father is facing jail time over his bungled Bel-Air mansion.
Mohamed Hadid, 68, the ex-husband of Yolanda Foster and dad to the famous models, has been ordered by a judge to stand trial over his mega-mansion that has faced legal troubles for years.
He purchased property in the celebrity-filled neighborhood in 2011, and is in the process of building a 30,000 sq. ft. monster home that has been nicknamed Starship Enterprise due to its sheer size.
The young models’ father has been charged with criminally violating building regulations during contsruction. And when he failed to appear in a Los Angeles County court on Tuesday, the judge order him to stand trial for three charges of breaching building codes and refusing to comply with the city’s orders to halt construction.
In court, Los Angeles City Attorney Tina Hess slammed Hadid’s delay tactics, saying he had “for five years thumbed his nose at the city … and his neighbors,” while continuing with the illegal construction of the property.
Each charge could get him a $1,000 fine and/or six months in jail.
His high-powered attorneys, Robert Shapiro and Donald Re, who defended accused killer Robert Durst, pleaded with the judge on his behalf to continue the case, while Hadid scrambled to find funding and more permits for the home.
Shapiro, famed for the O.J. Simpson case, begged the judge not to allow cameras in the courtroom, saying: “This is not a matter of great public interest. In my experience, when you have cameras in the courtroom, it only delays proceedings.”
Re previously told RadarOnline.com that Hadid was working toward an amicable resolution to the case. He did not immediately respond to RadarOnline.com's request for comment.
“My client, Mohamed Hadid, is working with the city to get the property to conform with all laws," he previously said. "He will do whatever is asked of him.”
Neighbors have argued that the home is 9,000 square feet larger and 31 feet taller than regulations allow and that the 70 seat personal movie theater and two huge decks on the property were all illegal.
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Hadid’s trial is scheduled to begin on May 30. Stay with RadarOnline.com for updates to the story.
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