LA hotel owners refuse to fire manager for wearing Nazi shirt

The manager was reprimanded, although his bosses commended his - and his mother's and grandmother's - ''excellent'' service to the hotel in their warning to him.

By TAMARA ZIEVE
Updated: DECEMBER 17, 2017 03:52
Nazi Swastika (photo credit: REUTERS)
Nazi Swastika
(photo credit: REUTERS)
A petition against a Los Angeles hotel manager who has been seen wearing a Nazi T-shirt has been rejected by the hotel’s owners.
The petition was started earlier this month by two residents of the Soto Hotel, Jeff and Dan, under the hashtag #justiceforjeffanddan.
The tenants complained that manager Antonio Ortega has worn a shirt in hallways and the entrance of the hotel depicting Hitler saluting a swastika.
The two roommates, one of whom identified himself as Jewish and the other as gay, also accused Ortega of threatening to use a gun and of shining a flashlight in a resident’s face.
“There’s no place for hate symbols in Los Angeles or California or the USA in 2017 nearly 2018,” reads their petition.
“It’s time the owners of Soto Hotel to fire him and evict him from the building with a restraining order.”
Thus far their petition has garnered 125 signatures but their request to dismiss the manager was rejected, Dan told The Jerusalem Post last week.
“The owners of Soto Hotel have asked that I reach out to you to acknowledge your valid concern earlier this week about the inappropriate attire Antonio Ortega wore,” read a message sent by manager Leo Valle to Dan.
“They too found the Hitler shirt offensive and will not tolerate such behavior,” he continued.
“In fact, the owners found it so serious, that one of the principals flew down to LA this week to meet directly with both Antonio and I regarding the offense. It was decided by the owners that in recognition of Antonio’s otherwise excellent performance as manager for the family for many, many years, as well as that of his mother and grandmother for now close to 40 years, he be reprimanded and warned that no such shirt is allowed. Again, please direct any valid concerns to me as your manager point person and we will continue to address them in a timely and professional manner.”
Dan said he was appalled but not surprised by the response, and that there should be zero tolerance for such actions, particularly in light of recent hate crimes and attacks in the US.
Dan and Jeff, who are disabled and poor, have launched a crowdfunding campaign to help them move and to fund legal action against the hotel for alleged abuse at the hands of the managers and owners after they requested relief from insects, filth and disrepair.