Sinatra says he has paid $1.2 million owed in back taxes
The owner of
However, Maciejewski said last week that Sinatra owed a total of
The actual amount that Sinatra paid the city wasn't disclosed. But Sinatra's director of development,
City spokesman
"He is in the final stages of full payment being completed," DeGeorge said.
Sinatra told The News last week that his failure to pay the taxes stems not from any financial difficulties but from a business decision to withhold the money as his companies challenged property assessments. In the case of a mobile home park property in
Poloncarz responded that property owners are required to pay their taxes even when challenging their assessments.
Sinatra, however, rejected criticism of the back taxes owed by his companies, citing over
"If various folks want to expose business practices they don't agree with, that's unfortunate, but at the end of the day, we're staying focused on the development and investment that we're doing here in
Sinatra's final tax payments came after he and
He also has been criticized for seeking tax breaks and other benefits from the government -- including
"It's ironic that Sinatra thinks so highly of his community contributions when he can't even take the basic step of paying his taxes," said
Political donations
Sinatra is one of the region's youngest and fastest-growing developers, with a host of new projects completed, underway or announced, including his remake of the
He denounced criticism of the unpaid taxes as "a political smear campaign" against him "because I'm a Republican."
"We have worked very hard to build a strong company reputation in this community and I get very upset when others try to smear it," Sinatra said. "Eight years ago, I decided to come home to rebuild my hometown -- the community I love. Armed with major investors, I could have set up shop in
He declined to comment further.
Sinatra's companies have spent significant money in the past two years to acquire properties. His
In the same period, he's also directed money to politicians, according to
In total, Sinatra gave just under
Sinatra gives to state political funds on both sides of the aisle, too. For example, he donated
"I support those who are good for
But Savage, Nagy and ECIDA counsel
"It is my understanding those forms were completed by the company itself, who provided that information in error," Savage said. "I believe the individual who prepared the application, unsure of who would be handling the matter, listed a general counsel, but I did not handle that matter."
Savage also said he was not aware of the tax debts until reported by
"Obviously, we expect taxes to be paid, and I've been assured they will be," he said.
Back taxes tallied
The report examined 79 properties owned by Sinatra through various limited liability companies, but was not an exhaustive study of his entire portfolio. That's because the developer uses many different entities that are difficult to identify and track, making it hard to know the extent of his holdings in
The report found his companies owed
Further research since then by
In particular, he hasn't paid
He also owes
Maciejewski's office, which cross-referenced all properties in the county database against an ownership mailing address of
In all, before the county payment and city payments, Sinatra owed at least
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