Word: assessorized
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Somerville city records clearly show that city tax assessor John J. Howe has systematically used his assessment powers to reward the political friends and punish the political opponents of his sister, Democratic State Rep. Marie E. Howe of Somerville...
Still, John Howe's personal unfamiliarity with the assessment process is unusual. Alderman Puglia calls Howe "the most unqualified assessor in the history of Massachusetts." In a deposition under oath during assessment victim Cosmo Capobianco's libel suit against Howe, Howe admitted that he has had "very little" training in the real estate business, and that he did not know the most important and elementary concept an assessor must learn--the three basic methods of appraising the value of real estate...
...When have you ever heard of an assessor lowering the assessment so the owners could sell the house?" Puglia, a political opponent of the Howes, asks. "That's unheard of. You're supposed to lower the assessment only if the property has gone down in value. And then, all of a sudden, a few months later, lo and behold, Howe's sister buys the property...
...because he is the beneficiary's legal custodian. Howe denies this, saying his wife could be the custodian instead. But according to several legal sources, including one in the state Attorney General's office, if the state Taxation Department finds that Howe's family tax break was unjustified, the assessor could be fired by the Department for violating the state's conflict-of-interest statute...
...saying anything against Ackerman.")CrimsonAnthea LetsouFor years, the Howe family has feuded with the weekly Somerville Journal. The newspaper's front page coverage of Marie Howe's arrest for disorderly conduct when she bit a police officer especially angered the Howes. After her brother was elected a city tax assessor, he increased the Journal's assessment by more than $10,000. "He singled us out, there's no question about it," says one newspaper staffer. "He didn't do the same to other businesses...