Holland Blog filed complaint with State Ethics Commission against Nancy Talbot, our elected tax collector.

According to a sworn affidavit by a Holland resident, our tax collector Nancy Talbot used her position to arrange a private deal to convey a buildable parcel of land to her son Deric.

The parcel was about to be taken thorough the tax-title procedure for unpaid taxes when Nancy Talbot allegedly approached the delinquent owner with an offer of “a couple of hundred dollars” to have the owner(s) convey the parcel to her son instead of losing it without getting anything..

The deal was sealed and registered at the Hampden County Registry of Deeds on May 29, 2008, see deed book 17317, page 311.

Today, the Holland Blog filed a complaint with the State Ethics Commission with the request to investigate the matter and punish Nancy Talbot for the alleged improprieties.

Picture of Deric Talbot’s parcel at the west end of Forest Park Drive. The parcel is 8050sf, has 144’ frontage, and deeded rights to a private beach. The lot has already been cleared from brush. In the background, you can see the ice cover of Hamilton Reservoir. Deric Talbot’s parcel at the west-end of Forest Park Drive The deal is remarkable as the parcel is not one of the many parcels which became un-buildable on October 28, 1975, when the voters of the town of Holland accepted the first Zoning Bylaw. Many lots had not the required 5000sf and 50’ of frontage required to qualify for an exemption under the grandfather clause included in section 6 of chapter 40A of the General Laws of Massachusetts.

Deric Talbot’s parcel qualifies for the exemption as the previous owner bought two adjoining lots back on August 27, 1964. The parcel is assessed at a value of $4,900 according to the Assessors Online Database, a value that would be sufficient if the parcel would be un-buildable.

To read the complaint, click here!
To read the affidavit, click here!
To read the deed to the Talbot parcel, click here!
As always, the reader can click on any term written in bold/italic to read the corresponding document, such as deed, complaint, affidavit, etc.

January 20, 2010, Peter Frei

Other posts about improprieties in connection with land-deals; oldest posts first:

Holland Selectman Earl Johnsons and Family Profit from Illegal Land Use
Homes built by the Johnson's, illegal!
Superior Court Judge Dismisses Johnson LandGate Suit
Peter Frei filed Notice of Appeal (The case is currently awaiting oral argument before a panel of three Appeals Court Judges, docket no. 2009-P-0827. The Holland Blog will notify its readers once a date is scheduled for the hearing.)
Earl Johnson resigned, the D.D.111 Scandal
This day 173 months ago...
Earl Johnson, Mr. Grinch or Santa Clause?