Falls camp operator leaves trail of woes
Relocates to Florida year after drowning
NIAGARA FALLS — The woman who ran an illegal summer camp, where a Bronx girl was staying last year when she drowned in the Niagara River, has put the property up for sale and left for Florida — but not before leaving a trail of deception in the last two places she has lived, her detractors say.
In recent years, Eva Hedges has claimed to be a real estate agent, paralegal and small contractor, according to business cards obtained by The Buffalo News.
She also attempted to sell houses her family has owned in Niagara Falls and the Rochester suburb of Pittsford at inflated prices and operated illegal businesses out of both of them, according to public records and officials in both communities.
Calling herself “Julita,” she posed as a real estate broker in 2003 when she sold her house in Pittsford to a Polish couple from Staten Island, speaking with them in fluent Polish.
The house sold for $244,000, according to property records, but is assessed at $122,000. The couple who bought it later told Pittsford officials that Hedges had told them they did not need a lawyer and gave false appraisal information while the sale was being processed. They also had to remedy housing violations on the property at a cost of more than $4,000.
In Niagara Falls, Hedges is asking $500,000 for her house at 722 Fourth St., which is assessed at $82,000.
An online real estate ad for the property says it has a swimming pool, 8-foot-high fence and gazebo. The ad also claims the property would be a perfect spot for a bed-and-breakfast.
In recent weeks, as part of a court order to fix problems that violate the city housing code, Hedges has been forced to lower the fences, remove her pool and gazebo, and take down three sheds. She was fined $2,000.
She also had been charged in City Court with running an illegal bed-and-breakfast at the home, but the charges were dismissed Oct. 19 because Hedges had discontinued the business, acting City Building Commissioner Dennis Virtuoso said.
Hedges’ attempt to operate a lodging facility in a residential zone had attracted attention last year when she had placed advertisements in Polishrelated publications in the New York City area of a summer camp for young Polish people and charged for stays in the Falls.
On Aug. 13, 2008, Hedges’ son, Timothy, led a group of 23 children, including 12-year-old Magdalena Lubowska, on a hike into the Niagara Gorge. Timothy Hedges told city police Magdalena wandered off a hiking trail, slipped off a rock and disappeared into the fast-moving river. Her body was found several days later.
After the drowning, Eva Hedges was charged with running an illegal bed-and-breakfast and the code violations.
By then, she already was well-known to code enforcement officers in Pittsford.
Between 1999 and 2003, she had appeared in court dozens of times for housing violations, according to Kate Munsinger, the town’s communications director. Hedges, she said, had been fined and written up many times over those years.
Town officials cited her for everything from building a deck and installing a roof without permits to renting rooms without a permit. Hedges, 63, also was charged with illegally running a handyman business out of her home, and the state Workers’ Compensation Board ordered her to pay for injuries suffered by worker who fell off a roof. She owed the state $80,000, including penalties, according to records.
Hedges closed the contracting business before coming to Niagara Falls in March 2002.
In several interviews with The News in recent months, Hedges has cast herself as a victim of overzealous officials.
“It’s all been misunderstandings. I have nothing to hide,” she said several weeks ago. “I’m just sick and tired of this and want to be finished with this. It’s not worth it.”
Members of Magdalena Lubowska’s family say they find sympathy impossible.
“She should have been in jail a long time ago for all her lies,” Marta Lubowska, the girl’s aunt, told The News last week.
Back in the Bronx, Magdalena’s family still is seeking some type of criminal or civil charges against Hedges and her son. In the days following the drowning, Niagara County District Attorney Michael A. Violante said he was investigating but has said nothing since then. He has not returned calls from The News.
Magdalena’s family also has had no response from the district attorney’s office, Marta Lubowska said.
“No one seems to want to talk to us,” she said. “I went to Niagara County two months ago to talk to [Violante], but he said he had nothing to say. He said, ‘We are still working on this.’ ”
A civil case against the Hedgeses has been moving slowly, she said.
“It’s not about money. We don’t care about that. We just want someone to be held responsible,” Lubowska said.
George V. C. Muscato, who represents both Eva and Timothy Hedges, has called the drowning a “tragic accident.” He said he believes Eva Hedges has no criminal culpability and that her son is “treading water,” waiting to learn whether charges will be filed against him.
Timothy Hedges is being treated for cancer in Florida, Muscato said, so Eva Hedges has been going back and forth to that state.
The $500,000 Hedges is asking for her house amazed her neighbor, Judith Scheira.
“She’ll be lucky if she can get $80,000,” Scheira said.
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