Deadbeat son facing eviction doesn’t know how to pack up his room
The jobless 30-year-old who still lives in his parents’ home is scrambling to pack up his mess of a room as eviction day looms — and he deals with his newfound notoriety.
Michael Rotondo is coming off a whirlwind week of media interviews and a trip to Texas to appear on conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ radio show for $3,000 after the story of his parents suing to evict him went viral.
But now, Rotondo has only three days — Friday at noon — to leave his parents’ place in Camillus he’s called home for the past eight years.
“Looking around my room and stuff, how much more is all this going to take to pack?” Rotondo told Syracuse.com after schlepping to a Lowe’s to buy $30-worth of boxes and tape.
He’ll keep his belongings – piles of books, crumpled clothing, a computer and a bed, according to a photo of his disheveled room – in a self-storage unit until he finds a new place to stay.
“There’s no more urgency after that,” he added. “Everything else is just finding a long-term place.”
Rotondo said he’s looking for “someplace inexpensive, with internet.”
The unemployed father of one has been mooching off his parents Mark and Christina for the past eight years and showed no signs of moving out until they sued him earlier this month.
The familial spat garnered international headlines and Rotondo shot to overnight infamy, appearing on Fox News, CNN and even earning a paycheck from Jones last Friday.
A Home Depot employee also offered to pay for Rotondo’s moving expenses after he complained he was too broke to fly the coop but he declined.
“Alex Jones makes money for having me on his show,” Rotondo explained. The woman “does not,” he told Syracuse.com.
But with his newfound celebrity has come “harassing” phone calls, Rotondo claimed.
On Monday, someone with a blocked phone number called his cell and muttered, “Loser,” before hanging up. Rotondo called 911.
“I can’t have my phone getting jammed up with nonsense like that,” he said. “I can’t have that happen.”
Police responded to his complaint that afternoon but it’s unclear what, if any, action was taken.