A long-serving school janitor who said he had “nowhere else to go” was caught secretly living inside the building he was paid to clean, even having his children stay over for weekend visits.
Hidden Room Above the Auditorium
Head custodian Timothy Walters, 36, had worked for the Albany City School District for 17 years when he moved into Hackett Middle School in Albany, New York, turning an old fourth-floor storage room above the auditorium into a makeshift studio.
Dubbed by locals as a “broom with a view,” the space was fitted with two beds, a futon, a mini-fridge, and cooking gadgets including a griddle and an air fryer.
Financial Struggles
“I had nowhere else to go,” Walters told the New York Post, explaining he had been staying with his sister and her boyfriend but they needed space. He said spiralling costs left him trapped despite earning $64,000 a year (about £50,600), and with overtime around $80,000 in 2025 (about £63,300).
He claimed he was “drowning in bills” and paying $2,000 a month in child support (about £1,580), leaving him unable to afford rent locally. He brought his four children—aged 11 to 17—to the school “apartment” during weekend custody time, while letting his sister believe he had moved into a legitimate place.
Caught on CCTV
Walters lived undetected for more than six months, from October 2025 until late April 2026, until school officials reviewing CCTV for a separate probe into suspected overtime fraud spotted him moving through the building at all hours. Walters was not accused of overtime fraud, but the footage led investigators to his hidden room.
“I knew what I was doing was wrong,” Walters admitted. “But I didn’t know what to do.” He added: “When your back is against the wall, sometimes you end up making choices you probably shouldn’t have made.”
Resignation and Charges
He was suspended with pay, the district moved to terminate him, and he resigned on June 23, calling it a “serious judgment error.” He was later arrested and charged with criminal trespassing. Police initially brought trespass charges that were later dropped.
Walters is now said to be living with an uncle in a trailer park while waiting for his own place, and claims he has had two job offers. His sister set up a GoFundMe that had raised $14,155 (about £11,200) of a $24,000 target (about £19,000) from 246 donations at the time of writing.
In the fundraiser, sister Amber Walters wrote: “He wasn’t hurting anyone. He wasn’t stealing or doing anything shady… He knows what he did wasn’t okay… And if nothing else, I just hope people can take a second to remember there’s a real person behind the story.”
