Sam Stair, a Milwaukee landlord recently indicted on federal drug charges, co-produced and starred in a reality TV show two years ago.
It was called “American Slumlord.”
The show offers an unfiltered look into Stair’s operation, featuring interviews with Stair and his employees and action in and out of his office.
The pilot episode, which does not appear to have been made into a series, is on YouTube, but the video has been delisted and does not come up on a web search.
Federal prosecutors mentioned the show in a document they filed arguing that Stair should remain behind bars.
Stair was “wholly undeterred by overdoses at his properties and even by his ultimate arrest in the instant matter, after which he told associates with whom he was held that the charges would be ‘good for the show,'” the filing says.
Law enforcement agents believed this was a reference to “American Slumlord,” prosecutors wrote.
Stair, 52, of Hales Corners, was indicted on 11 counts, including conspiracy to sell drugs, keeping a drug house and money laundering. The sweeping federal case alleges that he knowingly placed drug dealers in his properties and took a cut of their profits.
If convicted, Stair faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison and up to life behind bars. He is among 18 people indicted in the case.
Prosecutors lost the fight to keep Stair locked up when U.S. District Judge Brett Ludwig ordered Stair released on May 29. Stair will be on house arrest, but can continue to work.
Stair, who owns 150 properties in Milwaukee and nearby communities, is listed online as the co-producer of the 30-minute pilot TV show. It cost $40,000 to produce, according to a website with information on the show. It doesn’t say if Stair paid for the project.
The summary of the show says, “We filmed a pilot for a docuseries following the day to day activities of a Milwaukee low income landlord and his staff. Working with struggling people who are the least desirable tenants who are denied by every other landlord. Staff that have to deal with tough situations and the tough tenants.”
Scene opens with Stair in bed, taking work calls
The episode opens with Jeanette Lopez, Stair’s maintenance manager, getting ready for work. Lopez describes herself as the company’s top person in charge, after Stair.
Lopez is also charged in the federal drug case.
The first shot of Stair is of him in bed in his Hales Corners home, on the phone, talking work. He then is shown making breakfast, again taking business calls.
Once in his disheveled office at S2 Real Estate, Stair settles behind his computer.
“I love two things: I love people, but I also love money and I appreciate money,” he said. “I don’t love money to go buy stuff. I like to see the numbers on the screen.”
The show follows a day in the life of Stair’s operation, featuring breakaway interviews with Stair and those who work for him, some of whom are critical of him.
One former worker, named Freddie, is asked if Stair is a slumlord.
“Oh yeah,” he said. “Because of the way he does business, like patching [expletive] instead of really fixing things. You can’t do that. That’s not being a real landlord. You ain’t worried about the people, all you worried about is the money.”
Stair says Freddie, who has called him “the white devil,” had a seizure and can be unstable.
Other workers say Stair can be ruthless and focused on money, but is offering housing and jobs to people who couldn’t get them otherwise.
There is no discussion of drugs or drug dealing in the episode.
Death triggers a tense scene
Late in the episode, the staff learns that Freddie has died. His cause of death is not disclosed.
Stair, it turns out, had loaned Freddie $700 to buy a car shortly before his death. Now the money is gone, and Stair wants it back. This leads to the most dramatic scene, where Lopez’s brother, Mikey, confronts Stair. Mikey also works for Stair.
“Who else is gonna give him 700 bucks?” Stair asks Mikey.
“Sam, [expletive] with the 700 bucks. He’s [expletive] dead,” Mikey yells. “You don’t give a [expletive] about your family, you don’t give a [expletive] about anybody.”
Mikey then lurches at Stair, grabbing him by the neck and pushing him against a wall, before they separate.
In an interview after, Mikey says, “The worst thing with Sam, if he’s having a foul day or whatever happens, he still got a [expletive] smirk on his face. I don’t understand it.”
Stair then comes on screen and says, “In my defense, I wasn’t trying to be heartless.”
Stair then goes on to blame another of his workers for Freddie’s death.
“He might still be alive if they did what I told them to do,” he said.
The show closes on Jeanette crying about Freddie’s death.
John Diedrich is an investigative reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He can be reached at jdiedrich@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Indicted landlord Sam Stair starred in reality show, ‘American Slumlord’
Reporting by John Diedrich, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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