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Camden Mayor Vic Carstarphen said the property manager’s conduct is unacceptable.
“This is the irresponsibility of the management here,” he said. “What I’m seeing in [what] this young lady’s going through. No one should be going through anything like this.”
Caruso has a history of complaints in two states
All American Gardens is owned by Nationwide Housing Management, based in Camden County. Its founder and principal, Joe Caruso, has a history of violations with the county health department.
“We had violations from this property all the way from July of last year,” said Camden County Health Officer Dr. Paschal Nwako, adding there were 13 summonses pending in municipal court.
Caruso also got into trouble in Florida.
In 2021, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) wrote a letter to HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge, asking her agency to inspect 29 properties. Caruso’s was one of them.
Rubio said his staffers found “evidence of chronic administrative neglect, including severe rodent and pest infestations, black mold, crumbling structural integrity, and general disrepair” in all those properties.
Caruso disputed the claims. He told the Ocala Star Banner “they have completed maintenance projects at the apartments, and further checks are planned.”
‘Conditions in prisons are better than the conditions in their homes’
The All American Gardens Apartments complex is located in the Centerville section of Camden, one of the city’s challenging neighborhoods.
Police Chief Gabriel Rodriguez tries to stay connected to the area. His father lives close by and it was one of his first patrol beats.
“We always look at…what is the root cause of the issues that we have so many youth running the streets wild,” he said. “If they have to live in those conditions, conditions in prisons are better than the conditions in their homes.”
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