Girard at Large has learned that Kevin Paul, the fugitive that disappeared from an illegal sober home operating at 151 Parkview St. in Manchester Ward 9, didn’t just live in a sober home, he worked for Blueprint Recovery Center (BRC) in Concord.  BRC provides treatment and services to recovering addicts and is affiliated with multiple so called “sober homes” in Manchester.  Jonathan Gerson, who owns and or operates several illegally operating sober living facilities in Manchester, is the managing member of the limited liability company that owns BRC and its executive director.

Girard at Large was first to report the addresses of the homes Paul lived in.

Moser: Won’t answer questions

Paul was transferred from an illegally operating facility at 329 Lake Avenue in Ward 5 to the one on Parkview Street with the approval of his probation officer.  Felons on probation are required to have their living arrangements approved.  Paul was ordered into sober living and required by the court to wear an ankle bracelet.  That both properties are accepting people under court order raises the question as to whether or not they are operating as halfway houses which, under the city’s Zoning Ordinance,  which has specific location and operational requirements that must be met; requirements that these properties do not meet.

Both buildings are owned by Andrew Moser, a Realtor with the Keller Williams office in Bedford.  In a recent news article, Moser refused to answer a reporter’s questions about whether or not the houses were operating legally and how many clients resided in each dwelling unit.  329 Lake Ave. is a two family.  He admitted to owing and operating the homes,which is clear both from city tax records and social media posts.

Gerson: Lost variance case, operating other homes illegally.

Moser’s known association with Gerson and his work as a Realtor have people wondering whether or not he’s been brokering deals for Gerson and others who have been buying residential properties and using them unlawfully under the city’s zoning laws and in violation of the city’s housing, life safety and other building codes.  Gerson lost a variance case on February 13, 2020 on 70 Russell St. in Ward 2 and owns and or operates at least four other facilities in violation of city zoning and life safety codes, including:  296 Orange Street in Ward 2, 859 Chestnut Street in Ward 1, 273 Dubuque Street in Ward 11 and 162 Reed Street in Ward 11.  Gerson told a meeting of neighbors in Ward 2 on January 13th that he was “in the process of applying for a variance” for the property on Orange St., which is just a block away from the one on Russell St.

While Girard at Large was investigating Paul’s employment with BRC, his Facebook page was changed from saying he worked at “Blueprint Recovery Center” to “Behavioral Health Technician at Blueprint.”  While it is unknown who made the changes, Paul was apprehended near Fort Worth, Texas shortly after they were made.

What happened to “Recover Center?”  Click to enlarge.

Paul’s flight from the clandestine sober home in the city’s South End has fueled growing outrage over the location of these properties in unsuspecting residential neighborhoods.  Pressed by neighbors in Ward 2, city officials have scrambled to explain the city’s lack of zoning and life safety code enforcement, blaming the state of New Hampshire for not regulating their operation.  Neighbors have presented the Board of Mayor and Aldermen with an opinion from the First Circuit Court of Appeals decision involving the city of Fitchburg, MA and its attempts to enforce zoning and fire codes on sober homes.  The court sided with the city saying that enforcing the codes did not discriminate against sober home residents and that expecting them not to be enforced would defeat the very purpose of having the codes.  Click here for news coverage of the decision.  It was rendered in October of 2019.