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Top Tax Offender Still Refuses to Pay Up

By Scott MacKeen
Staff Writer
5/6/10
The town is getting several of its biggest tax evaders to pay up.

However, Town Treasurer James McAuliffe said the largest offender still refuses to cooperate.

James Rosencranz, an attorney who lives in a $699,000 home on Meetinghouse Lane, owes taxes back to 1992. According to the treasurer’s office, he owes over $250,000 to the town.

The Times highlighted tax delinquents in a story last September, when McAuliffe announced the town would pursue legal action against Rosencranz and four other residents who combined to owe more than $600,000 in unpaid taxes. Unless they immediately made plans to pay down their debt, the town would take the cases to land court in attempt to have the homes foreclosed upon, McAuliffe said at the time.

Since then, he said, the town has had cooperation with some of the offenders who have expressed sincere desire to get out of debt. However, Rosencranz has not been one of them.

“We’ve had him in the office to talk about it. He’s paid us about $6,500. He promised to do better. Is it an effort? Yeah. Is it a sincere effort? No. It’s peanuts at this point,” the treasurer said.

McAuliffe said the town will seek foreclosure on the Rosencranz residence, adding that former Town Treasurer Kevin Sorgi was also given unfulfilled promises to pay off the debt.

“He did the same thing to Kevin Sorgi. He would just give him a check for $4,000 and promise to pay the rest later. Only, he gave us a little more this time,” McAuliffe said.

Rosencranz could not be reached for comment.

Other top tax offenders against whom the town threatened legal action back in September included Robert and Mary Eldridge, of Saddle Ridge Road, who owed $189,539 in back taxes since 1996. Their home is worth $937,000. McAuliffe said the family has paid off the entire debt since September.

Louise Evans, of Brush Hill Road, who owed $78,163 dating back to 1999, has also paid off the full amount.

Dorothy Demeke, of Blue Hills Parkway, who owed $63,801 dating back to 2001, has been making regular monthly payments toward the debt.

“She’s on a tax-deferment program,” said McAuliffe.

He said Demeke’s children have been helping her out, and she is also looking to join the Council on Aging senior tax work-off program.

James Gaul and James Gaul II, of Granite Avenue, owed $61,672 since 2001. The family has hired an attorney and plans to sell their home to pay off the debt, McAuliffe said.

In all, back in September, the treasurer’s office was handling more than 80 tax-title cases totaling about $2 million in unpaid taxes.

McAuliffe said that he has taken an aggressive approach in handling the cases, although he said he understands some residents – especially seniors on fixed incomes – struggle to make payments in a tough economic climate.

“You have to have some compassion,” he said. “[But] we’ve done a pretty good job in [collecting overdue taxes]. The staff here is excellent.”

According to records from the treasurer’s office, about $904,000 of the $2 million mentioned last year in unpaid bills has been collected thus far. Around 50 tax-title cases remain open.

But the problem does not end there, according to McAuliffe.

“In May, we have 120 people who haven’t paid [all of] their 2009 taxes,” totaling about $669,000, he said. “We’re hoping we can collect that in the next few months.”

At Annual Town Meeting on May 3, Sorgi responded to a letter recently printed in the Times that said was “soft” in pursuing top tax offenders.

“I was not soft on tax collection, and anybody who knows me knows that,” he said.

Sorgi said bond agencies examine communities’ tax-collecting practices and Milton has maintained its AA rating for several years.

“They even applauded me at times and told me what a good job I was doing,” he said.