City beats 'Hoarders' to the punch

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SUN CITY SUMMERLIN, Nev., Nov. 28 (UPI) -- A lawyer for a Nevada man being charged $95,553.08 for the cleanup of his home said the fee could have been avoided if the city waited for TV show "Hoarders."

Sun City Summerlin is charging Kenneth Epstein, 55, the fee for removing the trash as well as live and dead cats from his home following his Oct. 12 arrest on charges of failure to register a pistol, unjustifiable injury to animals, failure to have a cat fanciers license, violating the fire code and two counts of public nuisance, the Las Vegas Sun reported Wednesday.

Epstein pleaded no contest and was sentenced to 358 days in jail suspended in favor of continued therapy and paying the cleaning bill. Epstein's lawyer, Kristina Wildeveld, said she is going over the bill to ensure her client isn't being overcharged.

Wildeveld said she had contacted TV show "Hoarders" about doing an episode about her client, and they would have cleaned the home for free, but the city had already begun work on the property.

Crews removed at least 41 tons of material from the property. They also removed 55 cats, including 15 dead cats and 19 that later had to be euthanized.