{news} Eric Brown's tax troubles

[David Bedell]

http://newhavenadvocate.com/gbase/News/content?oid=oid:125755

Debt and Taxes
Two mayoral candidates haven't paid their due.

by Ryan Kearney - September 15, 2005

Last month, shortly before he was nominated by the Greens, New Haven mayoral 
candidate Eric Brown Jr. spoke to party members about the "tax burden" and 
how it's "strangling the people who are supporting the city."

At the time, he seemed to be speaking generally about folks who have 
difficulty paying their tax bills on time. Little did his small audience 
know, Brown was also speaking about himself: He owes the city nearly $7,500 
in back taxes.

The bulk of that debt relates to his Russo Terrace home. According to C.J. 
Cuticello, the city's head of tax collection, Brown has racked up $6,333 in 
unpaid property taxes.

Brown doesn't deny he's overdue on tax bills from January and July, though 
he insists the figure is closer to $4,200. On Sept. 9, a couple of days 
after the Advocate first spoke with Brown about his unpaid taxes, he issued 
a statement to the press in which he pledged to pay all taxes by the Nov. 8 
general election.

But shouldn't a budding politician act as an example by paying his taxes on 
time?

"I'm not a politicianthat's one of the things I'm saying," he pleads.

Fair enough. What about simply being a responsible, tax-paying citizen?

"I pay my mortgage, my state taxes, and then you got to pay your property 
taxes. You got to pay a lot of taxes," he complains, noting that he has six 
kids to take care of. "What am I going to say, 'Sorry, girl, you can't eat 
'cause I got to pay taxes'?"

Plus, Brown says, it's not like he's running from his debts. "I have always 
paid my taxes. I might be a little late, but they always get paid."

Yeah, but 15 years late? That's how much time has passed since Brown was 
billed $844 in motor vehicle taxes on a Cadillac Fleetwood he once owned, 
according to Cuticello.

"Somebody stole that car," says Brown, by way of explanation. Told that 
theft doesn't wipe out unpaid taxes, he changes his tune. "I don't owe them 
anything on that because that tax bill's been paid."

Plus, he adds, "It's my understanding that after 15 years they can't do 
nothing about it."

And what about the other car, a Cadillac Seville on which Brown owes $279 
from the 2003 and 2004 tax years combined?

"My car burnt up," he says. "That happened almost a month ago now."

As in, it broke down?

Nope. "Caught fire and burnt up," he says. "I owed taxes on that car and it 
burnt up, so I wasn't in no rush to pay."

Campaign manager Ralph Ferrucci, a driver for Pepperidge Farm, met Brown, a 
customer service manager at Stop & Shop in Hamden, while on the job five 
years ago. One day earlier this year, Brown was telling Ferrucci about 
problems in the community and Ferrucci suggested he run for mayor.

Told that Brown owes the city money, Ferrucci was surprised, noting how long 
they've known each other. Ferrucci says he asked Brown about any personal 
issues that might surface during the campaign "and he never mentioned [back 
taxes]."

But isn't the campaign manager partly responsible for researching his 
candidate's background?

"We just don't have the resources to look into it," he says.

All it takes is a call to Cuticello.

"Right," he says, "and it's not something I thought of."

Eric Brown isn't the only mayoral candidate who, as of last week, hadn't 
paid his taxes in full. Independent Gary Jenkins, who has pushed for a "more 
humane" city tax collection program, owed $247 on his Stevenson Road homebut 
promptly paid the bill after speaking with the Advocate .

At first, Jenkins furiously denied he owed that, or any, amount. He said he 
pays property taxes through his mortgage, "so the bank usually takes care of 
that." After checking with his bank, he assured the Advocate that all of his 
taxes had been paid.

But on Sept. 9 he went down to the tax collector's office and learned that 
he did indeed owe $247 in personal property taxes from the 2003 tax year. In 
a fax to the Advocate , he wrote, "So it turns out I did owe the taxes, but 
I never received a bill or even knew about this until you brought it to my 
attention."

The city sends as many as six notices to tax scofflaws, including a 
delinquency notice, a demand notice, a request to visit the tax collector's 
office and an offer to set up a payment plan, according to Cuticello. 
"During some period of that delinquency, [Brown and Jenkins] have received 
numerous communications," he says.

While Jenkins seems eager to downplay the issue, Brown and Ferrucci are 
putting a political spin on Brown's tax delinquency. "You know how many 
people owe back taxes?" Ferrucci asks rhetorically. "A lot of people fall on 
hard times."

And Brown says he can't always pay his taxes on time while also meeting his 
family's needsa bind that many New Haven voters can relate to.

"That's the whole purpose I got into this [race] in the first place," says 
Brown. "I'm trying to live. I can't even live."