Man evicted by parents gives his side of the story

Michael Rotondo, the 30-year-old man ordered by a judge to leave his parents’ home in upstate New York, has tried to explain why he has no job.

In an interview with Business Insider, Rotondo, of Camillus, a town about 16 kilometres west of Syracuse, said that he was concentrating on parenthood.

“I’ve been a father for the past few years,” he told the website.

However, he has lost visitation rights to meet with the child.

Since then, he told Business Insider, his parents “have been trying to coerce me away” and had stopped feeding him. He said the notice to vacate that led to Tuesday’s court case was “a retaliatory action” for losing his visitation rights.

“I was an excellent father,” Rotondo claimed, saying he had taken his child fishing and skiing. “I was a great father, and [the child] needed me in their life.

“That’s why I’m not the CEO of a big company,” he added. “That’s why I’m living with my parents still.”

In a 30-minute-long back and forth conversation Tuesday, Rotondo told State Supreme Court Justice Donald Greenwood that he needs six more months at his parents’ house. Greenwood called the request “outrageous” and encouraged the work-shy defendant to address his parents directly in the courtroom — which he refused to do, Syracuse.com reported.

On Wednesday, Rotondo seemed resigned to moving out. However, he said he needs several months to get out of the house.

The judge’s decision came after Mark and Christina Rotondo sent their son several letters asking him to move out, get a job and take his broken-down Volkswagen with him. In a letter dated Feb. 18, they offered him $1,100 in cash to help him find a place to stay.

And some advice: “There are jobs available even for those with a poor work history like you. Get one.”