Neighbors sue to shut down Raleigh party mansion

The Radcliffe Homeowners Association filed a complaint against Claude Verbal II, Pamela Verbal and Metropolitan Lifestyle Group LLC over parties at the home, at 10625 Marion Stone Way.

The 15,224-square-foot home, which the Verbals purchased in August 2010, was billed as "The Mansion," a nightclub-type commercial enterprise during summer months, according to court records. Pamela Verbal has hosted several parties there over the past year that included drug use, liquor for sale, loud and often profane music, scantily-clad models, beefy security guards and valet parking, court records state.

Radcliffe resident Shawn MacArthur said he stopped by one party last summer, which he thought was a housewarming, only to find a $45 fee for valet parking and a cover charge to get inside.

"I'm looking at all these cars, going, 'Wow.' I mean, this is a public street, (and) they're charging people to park," MacArthur said Tuesday.

Because he was a neighbor, the cover charge was waived, he said, and inside was "like something I would imagine at the Playboy Mansion."

"It was tons of people – women in bikinis, guys in swimsuits. They're just drinking. There's people in cabanas, guys getting with girls on the cabanas. I was just shocked," he said.

Court records state hundreds of people attended the parties, which were advertised on local radio stations and online, and cars lined the two streets in the 15-lot neighborhood of million-dollar homes off Falls of Neuse Road north of Raven Ridge Road. At one party, cars also filled a vacant 2-acre lot in Radcliffe, and at least one hit-and-run has been reported, court records state.

"The residents of Radcliffe are terrorized by these events," the complaint states. "They cannot enjoy their homes. They fear leaving their homes unattended while these parties are taking place, but they also feel uncomfortable being outside or taking a walk in their own neighborhood."

Judge Donald Stephens issued a restraining order on May 17 to end the parties, but residents maintain in court records that Pamela Verbal hosted parties the following two nights.

"I feel like I must keep watch all the time," neighbor Wayne Cohoe stated in an affidavit. "We are afraid, and I believe we are all in danger."

"They were doing drugs and being frisked, and so that meant possible fights and weapons and things like that," MacArthur said. "I don't want that around my family."

Stephens then ruled Pamela Verbal was in contempt of court and amended his restraining order to prohibit her from having more than five guests in her home until the neighbors' request for an injunction can be heard.

Pamela Verbal declined to comment on the dispute Tuesday, but her lawyer called it racially motivated.

"There are no lavish parties going on here," attorney Tiffany Russell said. "What's really going on is you have three neighbors in a four-house neighborhood who are mad that this one young black female is living in this house."

Russell denied the allegations of liquor for sale, cover charges and valet parking charges. She said no more than 40 to 50 people attended any party, which she described as "social gatherings."

The Verbals owe more than $8,100 in delinquent property taxes on the home, according to Wake County tax records, and they have it listed for sale at $2.95 million.