Orphanage owner found in civil contempt of court
MARQUETTE -- The owner of the abandoned orphanage on Fisher Street in Marquette claims he will finally repair the building within the next 15 days.
Roger Rinne appeared in Circuit Court Tuesday morning to try and prove that he is not in civil contempt of court.
In 2009, the court ordered him to make repairs to the orphanage within a specific time frame, but he failed to comply. He claimed he simply didn't have the money to make the repairs, but with lack of evidence to Rinne's claim, the judge did find him in civil contempt.
"The reason we're here is because no progress was made, and I think the court sent a message to Mr. Rinne that he's got two weeks to start making progress, and he's assured the court that he's going to do that, so that's a step in the right direction," said City Attorney Ron Keefe.
Rinne claims he is working with investors to fund the repairs and should have them underway within the next two weeks. If he doesn't, he will be ordered to pay $100 for each day of non-compliance, on top of the outstanding $6,038 in fines he still owes.
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