19 people charged in Montauk illegal rental pad

Talk about a packed house. When East Hampton officials raided the 4,000-square-foot house at 13 Beech Hollow Court Saturday morning, they found 18 people staying in nine bedrooms, the East Hampton Star reported. Among them was Alina Gersham, who leased the house for the summer from the owner Thomas Mahl. After creating six additional bedrooms and an illegal basement conversion, Gersham rented the house out to 17 people for as much as $1,800 per room for a weekend, according to a town press release. Many of the illegal units had no emergency exits, the town claims. Gersham and Mahl now face dozens of charges. Mahl, who bought the property for $1.65 million in 2006, was involved in a similar case earlier this year when his house at 16 Gates Avenue was cited as an illegal share house. He was not charged for that infraction. [EHS] — Cathaleen Chen