"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
Here is a news piece that was published 15 years ago in the THE NEWS which became THE SOUTHBRIDGE EVENING NEWS:
Selectmen offer a plan in Holland, By Mairgread 0' Meara
HOLLAND -- The Board of Selectmen is trying to pull the town out of a financial morass begun years ago by former town officials.
The board distributed a report on 106 formerly town-owned properties that have caused the loss of $60,707.77 in taxes for the town.
The loss in taxes with these properties is only part of the picture. Another $163,000 remains in uncollectible taxes on other properties. These are monies that the former Tax Collector Jean Rozema failed to collect. (She later was convicted of embezzling $110,000. The town recovered $47,000 of that from the bonding company for the years she was bonded, 1983-1988. She was not bonded from 1988-1991.)
During this week's selectmen‘s meeting, Chairman James R. Foley had a file cabinet with three drawers wheeled into the room. He pulled open the bottom drawer and said the files represented more than $5 million in assessed value --- they were properties in land court that were foreclosed. Foley said, “ $78,000 in taxes will not be collected this year alone.. . . .” and, “Those in the past did not do their work . . .”
Click here to read the entire news piece.
The scandal described in the news piece quoted above was named D.D.111. The entire D.D. 111 report will soon be published on the Holland Blog. The individual that is the subject to this riddle conveyed a 12 plus acre parcel over to his mother in law 14 years before; that ensuing scandal was named “Johnson - Landgate” and is still ongoing.
Earl Johnson was forced to resign due to his own improprieties and the embezzlement of $110,000 by Rozema under his watch.
Improprieties by the tax collector Nancy Talbot who repalced Rozema after she was jailed surfaced again recently after Derric J. Talbot, Nancy Talbot‘s son, became the owner of two adjoining pieces of land that were conveyed to him for the price of $100.
Click here to read the deed of the two properties Deric Talbot “aquired” and were conveyed to him for the price of $100. The previous owner failed to pay taxes and was about to lose the properties in the tax title proceeding about a year ago. According to Derric Talbot, his mother Nancy approached the previous owners and explained that they would lose the property anyway, and that they could at least get a few dollars if they were willing to convey it over to her son before the completion of the tax title proceedings.
Earl Johnson who was sitting on the Board of selectmen back in 1985 when he conveyed town property over to his mother in law is the same individual who was sitting on the board of assessors 14 years ago when the $110,000.00 tax revenue disappeared! As preposterous it sounds, Earl Johnson is running for the seat on the tax assessor‘s board AGAIN! Earl Johnson is one of the defendants in a lawsuit in connection with his illegal conduct described in the “Johnson Landgate.” Click here to read the complaint. Earl Johnson is the mastermind behind that illegal scheme that he set in motion more then 28 years ago. Since Earl Johnson has not changed, history WILL repeat itself; apparently with the blessing of the community if re-elected!
Peter Frei