for BigTrial.net
District Attorney Larry Krasner, the city's top law enforcement official, is once again a tax deadbeat.
For Krasner, paying his real estate taxes over the years has been a persistent problem, but he doesn't want to talk about it. And neither does Kevin Lessard, Mayor Kenney's director of communications.
Lessard went on vacation today rather than answer the question of who at City Hall was responsible for giving the D.A. yet another pass on paying his property taxes this year like everybody else has to do.
According to Krasner's most recent statement of financial interest, filed in 2020, the D.A. has a 40% ownership stake in Tiger Building LP, which owns the former Princeton Club located at 1221-23 Locust Street.
Last year, Big Trial reported that Tiger Building LP had an outstanding tax bill of $53,168.60 that hadn't been paid. According to city records, the historic landmark property, which last sold in 2008 for $1.35 million, has a current value of $3.8 million.
So last year, the city and Tiger Building LLP entered into a payment agreement. But according to city records, Krasner still owes $26,608.19 in principal on last year's taxes, plus $2,261.05 in interest, penalties and fees, for a total of $30,786.33.
And this year, Krasner didn't get around to paying his taxes either. So as of today, Tiger Building LP owes the city $53,168.60 in principal on the same building, plus $797.53 in interest, for a total of $53,966.13.
So according to city records posted online, this means that for the tax years of 2021 and 2022, Tiger Building LLP co-owned by the district attorney of Philadelphia now owes the city a grand total of $84,752.46 in taxes, interest, penalties, and fees.
Krasner's not only cheating the city. Some 54% of all property tax revenues go to the financially distressed Philadelphia School District.
"Pay now," the city's webpage advises Krasner and the other owners of the former Princeton Club. "Need help with your bill? We offer payment options and assistance plans."
Krasner, who, as usual, did not respond to requests for comment, has been a persistent deadbeat when it comes to paying taxes owed on the former Princeton Club.
Back in 2016, the year before Krasner first ran for D.A.,Tiger Building LLP had an unpaid bill of $130,809 in use and occupancy taxes owed to the Philadelphia School District. That bill included $71,992 in taxes, a $24,900 fine, and $33,916 in combined interest and penalty.
In 2016, the building's owners negotiated the back taxes bill down to $89,0000 and entered into a payment plan with the city to pay off that debt.
But then last year, while he was running for reelection as D.A., Krasner stopped paying his taxes again.
When I contacted the city's Revenue Department last year for comment on unpaid taxes of $53,168.60 on the former Princeton Club, a spokesperson declined comment, and passed the buck to the mayor's press office.
"The Real Estate Tax account for 1221 Locust Street is currently in a payment agreement, and is considered in compliance," a spokesperson from the mayor's press office wrote last year.
So earlier this week, when the back taxes, interest and penalties owed on the former Princeton Club hit $84,752.46, I contacted the mayor's office once again for comment.
So today, when I hadn't heard back from Lessard within 48 hours, I wrote him another email asking what gives.
Seconds later, I got an automatic reply.
"If you are a reporter on deadline, please email press@phila.gov. For all other inquiries, I will get back to you upon my return to the office on Monday, May 9."
"Stay well, and thank you for your patience," Lessard wrote.
That left my questions to Lessard hanging, such as:
"Why is the city not instituting legal proceedings against Krasner for non-payment of this year's taxes?"
"Who in the city specifically negotiated this deal?"
"Who in the city specifically negotiated this deal?"
"Why is the city allowing Krasner to pay under $2,000 a month when he has an annual salary of more than $180,000, his wife has a pension of more than $100,000, and according to their statement of financial interest, they both have additional sources of income?"
"Why is the mayor's office involved in answering questions about why the D.A. doesn't pay his taxes?"
"Is this a special deal worked out between Krasner and Kenney? A deal that nobody else can get?"
"After reading the city's website, it appears that the city does not allow taxpayers to enter into a payment agreement when they've made no good faith payments prior to the taxes being overdue. Why is Krasner being treated differently?"
"After reading the city's website, it appears that the city does not allow taxpayers to enter into a payment agreement when they've made no good faith payments prior to the taxes being overdue. Why is Krasner being treated differently?"
But, as I mentioned previously, rather than answer my questions, Lessard was off partying somewhere. And when I forwarded my list of questions to press@phila.gov, they didn't respond either.
Next, I emailed City Solicitor Diana Cortes a similar list of questions, since last year's settlement agreement with Tiger Building LP is listed on city records under her name. But Cortes did not respond to my request for comment.
After 5 p.m. tonight, however, a spokesperson for the mayor's press office -- whom Lessard, apparently rousted from his vacation, sought anonymity for -- finally got around to responding to my questions.
The response came after this story was posted without any comment from city officials and obviously, somebody at City Hall got pissed about it.
The spokesperson conceded that the Tiger Building's taxes owed for this year are now considered "overdue."
The city spokesperson, however, claimed that Krasner received no special treatment, and that the city typically waits until the following January, as in January 2023, to take action against tax deadbeats like Krasner for this year.
Only in January 2023, the spokesman said, would Krasner's unpaid taxes be considered "delinquent." And that's when the city would move to put a lien on the property for unpaid taxes.
The regulations state that if somebody is already involved in a payment agreement with the city, "the taxpayer is obligated to pay the current year real estate taxes that come due . . . during each subsequent year."
The regulations also state that taxpayers involved in a payment agreement with the city are subject to "the requirement of maintenance of current property tax payments during the length of the agreement."
So Krasner is already in default of his payment agreement, but nobody in the city is doing anything about it.
That's what we call a sweetheart deal. But the question remains -- who in the city gave Krasner that sweetheart deal?
The deal with Krasner and friends was negotiated by "a member of our front-line staff in Taxpayer Services," the city spokesperson said, but declined to name who that frontline staffer was.
The spokesperson also would not disclose the actual terms of the payment agreement, which Krasner and friends obviously did not live up to, as the city presently lists that Tiger Building LP still owes $26,608.19 in principal on last year's taxes, plus $2,261.05 in interest, penalties and fees, for a total of $30,786.33.
The city spokesperson also claimed that the combined income of Krasner and his wife was irrelevant when it came to negotiating the payment agreement.
"For this type of agreement, the City does not evaluate individual income or expenses," the spokesperson claimed. "The taxpayer, Tiger Building LP, qualified for our existing terms."
The city's tax regulations, however, state that payment agreements are up to the "broad" discretion of city officials. So once again, in negotiating that payment agreement with Krasner and friends, somebody at City Hall gave out another sweetheart deal.
As for why the mayor's press office would get involved in a tax dispute with the D.A., the spokesperson said, "The Mayor’s Press Office coordinates all media responses for every department in the City."
So Larry Krasner, the city's top law enforcement official, has a well-documented record stretching back over nearly a decade of being a persistent tax deadbeat who regularly cheats the Philadelphia School District out of the tax revenues that he owes.
But since he got reelected as D.A, Krasner and his supporters have become big boosters on behalf of funding public schools.
Anyone else see a problem here?
"Real Public Safety happens when we fully invest in our public schools," an ad proclaims that ran on the internet in March featuring a photo of Krasner.
The ad was run by the Real Justice PAC of San Francisco. Last year, the PAC raised some $1.3 million for Krasner's reelection campaign --- in flagrant violation of city elections laws that limited contributions from a single PAC to $12,600.
[Instead of enforcing the law, however, the city Board of Ethics took a dive and gave Krasner a pass, much like what City Hall is doing right now with the D.A. when it comes to making him pay back taxes.]
That Real Justice ad featured Krasner and a couple of friends holding up signs that said, "Fully Funded Public Schools = Crime Prevention."
"The safest neighborhoods don't have the most militarized police," Real Justice wrote under Krasner's photo. "They have the most resources, including fully funded public schools."
"We are so proud to have helped re-elect Philly DA Larry Krasner for DA because he understands that real public safety happens when every student is able to get a quality education," the Real Justice ad concluded.
Just don't expect Krasner the tax deadbeat and hypocrite to pay his fair share to ensure that kids get that quality education.