February 25, 2004
THAT'S SOME CABANA:
Kerry loan twice as nice (Ellen J. Silberman and Jack Meyers, February 25, 2004, Boston Herald)
U.S. Sen. John F. Kerry used an appraisal pegging the value of his Beacon Hill townhouse at twice the amount listed on City Hall records in order to get the $6.4 million loan he needed to resuscitate his presidential bid.The Kerry campaign says the elegant Louisburg Square townhouse that Kerry shares with is millionaire wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry is worth $12.8 million - exactly double the Christmas Eve mortgage the senator got from Mellon Bank.
But Boston's Assessing Department puts the value of the swank, five-story mansion - with six fireplaces, five bedrooms, a private elevator and roofdeck - at $6.6 million as of Jan. 1, 2003. The assessed value actually dropped from 2002's figure of $6.95 million.
The home's true value is significant since federal election laws allow Kerry to finance his presidential bid by borrowing only against his own assets - prohibiting him from tapping into his wife's millions.
"It could be a very, very big excessive contribution by his wife if, in fact, he's using more than half the real value of the house,'' said Don Simon, a Washington-based campaign finance lawyer who is unaffiliated with any presidential campaign. Kerry Heinz is limited to donating $2,000 to her husband's campaign.
The conflicting valuations also raise questions about the propriety of the loan - taken from Mellon Bank of New England, a subsidiary of Pittsburgh-based Mellon Bank, N.A.Kerry Heinz, heiress to the Heinz ketchup fortune, has a long history with Mellon Bank. The bank also serves as a trustee for The T & J Louisburg Square Nominee Trust, the entity that owns the townhouse.
How long before George Soros is offering $50 million for it? Posted by Orrin Judd at February 25, 2004 10:00 AM
The Boston Herald is less liberal than the Boston Globe (think of the NY Post vs the NY Times) and may push this story but I wouldn't expect the main media to go after Kerry on what appears to be questionable funding for his campaign.
Posted by: AWW at February 25, 2004 10:35 AMMost expensive current listing on The Boston Globe's real estate section for the area is a $5.6 million, 7 bedroom townhouse facing the Public Garden.
Posted by: Mike Earl at February 25, 2004 10:46 AMWhere is Paul Krugman? Isn't this just the sort of financial hanky-panky he is always accusing the President (and Dick Cheney) of?
And what is Teresa's culpability in all this? Will Kerry release all the copies of all the loan papers? If not, why not? Chris Matthews, call your office!
Posted by: jim hamlen at February 25, 2004 11:34 AMShouldn't the County Auditor (or whoever it is who assesses real estate taxes in Massachusetts) amend the tax duplicate to reflect the new, higher valuation on the appraisal?
And then, shouldn't the Kerrys get a real estate tax bill for the higher taxes they owe on the higher valuation?
And shouldn't they pay it willingly, since they believe that there should be no special tax breaks for the wealthy?
Posted by: Mike Morley at February 25, 2004 12:29 PMHeinlein once suggested that property owners set their own assessed value, with the proviso that any willing buyer could force a sale at the assessed value.
Posted by: David Cohen at February 25, 2004 1:06 PMA friggin' private elevator. Now there is a man of the people.
Posted by: pchuck at February 25, 2004 1:39 PMDavid:
'Number of the Beast'. A great story, but good golly, Heinlein was "The Master", but even he could use some editing.
Posted by: Michael Herdegen at February 25, 2004 11:25 PM