Judge tells GOPers to can ads about Boyle taxes
A city judge issued an unusual restraining order yesterday against state Rep. John Perzel, legislative candidate Matt Taubenberger and the state Republican Party, setting stiff fines if they continue running ads about the property taxes of Taubenberger's opponent, Brendan Boyle.
A city judge issued an unusual restraining order yesterday against state Rep. John Perzel, legislative candidate Matt Taubenberger and the state Republican Party, setting stiff fines if they continue running ads about the property taxes of Taubenberger's opponent, Brendan Boyle.
Over the past two weeks, Perzel has financed a series of newspaper ads alleging that Boyle is a "tax deadbeat" for failing to pay real-estate taxes on a property owned by Boyle's wife.
In fact, the Boyles paid the necessary taxes last year when they bought the property. But the city Revenue Department mistakenly credited the money toward water bills instead of real-estate taxes, leading to the property being listed as tax-delinquent on a Web site run by the Board of Revision of Taxes.
City Revenue Commissioner Keith Richardson said last week that the city was responsible for the error, but Taubenberger refused to apologize and maintained his attacks.
Boyle's attorney, R. Emmett Madden, went to court yesterday seeking an order to block further attacks, and Judge Gary F. DiVito granted the request.
DiVito ordered Perzel, Taubenberger, and the Republican Party to stop distributing any campaign literature related to the tax allegations, to collect any material they've already printed and to deposit it at DiVito's courtrooom in City Hall by 8 a.m. today.
DiVito authorized the police, sheriff, district attorney and any elected officials or appointees to serve his order on judges of elections and confiscate any literature they find.
Anyone distributing the material in violation of the order is subject to a fine of $500 for each piece confiscated, the judge said, and each instance could lead to a $1,000 fine against Perzel and Taubenberger.
Taubenberger did not return calls seeking comment. *
