Property Reassessment

August 29, 2008

Resident denies reassess threats

‘Mike,’ who hasn’t been charged, said he is hiring lawyer because of allegation.

By Jennifer Learn-Andes jandes@timesleader.com
Luzerne County Reporter
Jennifer Learn-Andes on Facebook   |   @TLJenLearnAndes on Twitter

The man accused of threatening to shoot reassessment workers and burn down the Plains Township reassessment center said he did no such thing.

“All I did was curse and say the guy was a ‘freaking moron,’ ” said the property owner, who spoke on the condition that he be identified publicly only by his first name, Mike.

He said he is in the process of hiring a lawyer because the allegation could threaten his livelihood and cause him to be treated as a suspect if the county someday experiences reassessment-related violence.

“Now commissioners are looking to get me arrested. It’s blowing up and making me look like I’m some gun-toting nut,” Mike said.

Plains Township police said Thursday that they are investigating the matter.

County Communications Director Jason Jarecki said the county and reassessment company have multiple witnesses to what was said that day. Police had originally taken the position that charges would not be filed because the threat was against one worker, but county officials believe the threat was against multiple people in the building, Jarecki said.

Jarecki said county officials are concerned that other property owners will feel that such behavior is acceptable if police don’t hold someone accountable.

Mike said he had no idea that Luzerne County reassessment workers were referring to him when he read a news article that appeared in Tuesday’s edition.

Sarah Garner, of the county’s reassessment company, 21st Century Appraisals Inc., said in the article the property owner loudly and repeatedly cursed at employees and made “threatening movements” after learning he had missed the deadline for a formal appeal. He ignored initial requests for him to leave the building, she said.

“He threatened to shoot employees and burn down the building,” said Garner, a regional office coordinator.

Workers hit a panic button to summon Plains Township police, but Garner said the property owner left the building before police arrived and raced out of the parking lot, allegedly almost hitting vehicles.

County officials say they won’t publicly identify the property owner unless police file charges. However, Mike said he has started to receive phone calls indicating he is the person accused of the threats.

Mike and his fianc�e, who also asked not to be identified for fear other parents won’t let their children visit her child at their home, said she was with Mike that day and he did not make any mention of a gun, shooting or a threat to burn down the building.

Both she and Mike said a security guard who was present made no effort to subdue or restrain him, which they hold up as evidence that he did not show signs of violence or threatening gestures.

Mike said he was advised to stay in the center, not leave, because the workers were contacting police. His fianc�e said she asked three times why police were being called, because the only bad thing he had done was use profanity. Mike said the security guard did not instruct him to stay as he left.

Mike said he became angry because he bought a brick double block for $42,000 in March 2008, and the new assessed value was $99,000. The property was in the midst of a mortgage foreclosure, but Mike said the property was publicly listed through a Realtor and had not yet gone through a sheriff’s sale.

“It was on the open market for 45 days. Potential buyers walked through the building, and nobody wanted it. It’s in deplorable condition,” he said.

Mike said the structure is a former “drug house,” with bullet holes in the doors. Electrical wires were ripped out of the walls so thieves could melt the copper for money. Much of the plaster had caved in, and the porch fell off two weeks after he bought the place.

He believes the building will likely be worth $100,000 or more once he renovates it, but Mike said he’s concerned that the building permits to do the work will prompt the county to further increase his value beyond $99,000.

Mike said he was frustrated because he had contacted the county to schedule a formal appeal, and the worker advised him to first undergo an informal appeal. The informal review wasn’t scheduled until after his 40-day deadline to file a formal appeal, and he said the scheduler never told him that he couldn’t file a formal appeal if he didn’t preserve his right to file.

While his vehicle made a squealing noise as he pulled out of the parking lot, Mike said he did not tear out of the lot or come close to hitting other vehicles.

21st Century representative Tim Barr said he interviewed witnesses Thursday and verified that Garner’s account of what happened is accurate.

In regard to Mike’s disputed assessment, Barr said a purchase made during a mortgage foreclosure is not counted in his company’s reassessment formulas because the seller is under more pressure to unload the property.

Barr also said the county is considering stationing armed sheriff deputies at the reassessment center in light of recent claims.

Some county officials have become increasingly concerned about threatening behavior stemming from the reassessment.

Assessment Director Tony Alu has received several threatening phone calls, and his car door was kicked in during a recent commissioners’ meeting. Commissioner Maryanne Petrilla said a woman said she wanted to smash Petrilla’s head into a toilet.

Jennifer Learn-Andes, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 831-7333.

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