Zagustin gone to Vegas

-- Eron Ben-Yehuda

Although you never say never with Elena Zagustin, the notoriously messy

former Huntington Harbour resident appears to have finally left her

long-tormented neighbors at peace.

After years of legal troubles, Zagustin lost her Morse Circle home in

July at a forced auction meant to cover court judgments against her for

turning her home into a health hazard. Even after the auction, she

continued to keep many of her belongings there, so a judge took the added

step of evicting her in September.

She has kept out of sight ever since. She reportedly lives in Las Vegas.

She has little reason to return because the former civil engineering

professor at Cal State Long Beach was notified in September that she had

“automatically resigned” by skipping work too often. But if she does come

back, Zagustin probably will be arrested because of two outstanding

warrants issued against her for violations of health and safety

standards.

The new owners, who paid about $300,000 for the house, specialize in

sprucing up fixer-uppers. They had their hands full, throwing out tons of

trash, tattered clothing, bruised boxes and broken furniture that filled

the single-story, cream-colored home. They plan to sell the property by

early next year. One of the owners, Randy Durham, already has a sales

pitch in mind: “We’ve changed everything but the address.”