CoS CONNECTICUT INC. Foreclosure Case filed by CITY OF NEW HAVEN

[Mary_McConnell]

Thanks so much, skydog! One comment, however, on this

The fact that the tax exempt status was revoked is a signal that the local churches do not have the funds to hire local counsel and tax professionals to avoid these types of problems.

Well, that certainly is a signal about Scientology in New Haven.

Most orgs do not have to file anything after first approved application for waiver or exemption of property taxes. In this case, the City has it's own process, differing from others and probably just put the information  in it's annual tax bill which then went in the backbills basket ( which was SOP in many local orgs when I was a member many years ago).

It's also a signal that they had untrained staff in treasury and little support in their OSA/Legal Affairs division, because they would have been on top of this making sure treasury was trained on what to do when the first government tax bill arrived in the mail. It should have, according to Hubard's policy,  been sent up for 'handling' .

Anyone know the phrase "Too little, too late" ? Pure instant karma

[ethercat]

Thanks for the summary, skydog.

I find it very disturbing that so many of these Ideal Org buildings are either being left to deteriorate, or being lost in one way or another. 

As much as I'd like to be jubilant about the scientologists not having the money to maintain and keep these buildings, something about this bothers me.  Certainly there is enough money in the coffers to pay up and avoid losing these buildings.  Why would DM allow this to happen to these buildings?  Surely if the plan were to hold and sell, as some think, he wouldn't let them rot like they are.  Is there some kind of money laundering scheme going on?  What could be the game here? 

Atlanta: deteriorating while it waits out the RLUIPA process

New Haven: being foreclosed on for property taxes

Northumbria: sat deteriorating, was about to be sold, or had been, then burned

San Diego: left deteriorating, now up for sale (as of March 2011)

Boston: Demolished in April, after being declared "structurally unsound" by the city.  Supposedly to be rebuilt.  http://southend.patch.com/articles/photo-gallery-ivory-bean-building-demolished#photo-5756030

Something about Plymouth and Salt Lake City but I don't have time to search for what right now.

These are "islands of sanity"?!?

[mefree]

I find it very disturbing that so many of these Ideal Org buildings are either being left to deteriorate, or being lost in one way or another. 

As much as I'd like to be jubilant about the scientologists not having the money to maintain and keep these buildings, something about this bothers me.  Certainly there is enough money in the coffers to pay up and avoid losing these buildings.  Why would DM allow this to happen to these buildings?  Surely if the plan were to hold and sell, as some think, he wouldn't let them rot like they are.  Is there some kind of money laundering scheme going on?  What could be the game here? 

Atlanta: deteriorating while it waits out the RLUIPA process

New Haven: being foreclosed on for property taxes

Northumbria: sat deteriorating, was about to be sold, or had been, then burned

San Diego: left deteriorating, now up for sale (as of March 2011)

Boston: Demolished in April, after being declared "structurally unsound" by the city.  Supposedly to be rebuilt.  http://southend.patch.com/articles/photo-gallery-ivory-bean-building-demolished#photo-5756030

Something about Plymouth and Salt Lake City but I don't have time to search for what right now.

These are "islands of sanity"?!?

I find this baffling, too. These Idle Org real estate holdings are probably only a quarter of their original worth at this point. 

[Mary_McConnell]

How timely.

China shows us what an Ideal Org for 16,000,000 people looks like
OldAuditor on July 22, 2011
http://possiblyhelpfuladvice.com/?p=3600

"China has its own version of the Miscavige Ideal Org project. They are building enormous empty cities and malls which are populated only by cleaning women and maintenance workers.

The Chinese leadership has evidently decided that the apparency of growth is more important than real economic growth. Watch this video and marvel at how much the language used by the promoters of these empty cities sounds like Sea Org blather about Ideal Orgs."

Watch the video he put up called China's Ghost Cities and Malls

[skydog]

New article gives the time line concerning the revocation of the exemption.

http://www.registercitizen.com/articles/2011/08/22/news/doc4e51c9b1e4096910124168.txt?viewmode=fullstory

[skydog]

Sorry for the misinformation in my previous posts. I based that post on the pleadings and my conversations with the city's attorney who told me that the church had failed to file the necessary paperwork to continue the exemption. I assumed it was the four year form-not the proof that construction was ongoing. 

Kudos to the city assessors and building inspectors for following through on this. In many cases, this type of thing falls through the cracks and nothing is done for years.

The clam's attorney, Nick Mingione, is proving to be quite an ass clown.

[ethercat]

Sorry for the misinformation in my previous posts. I based that post on the pleadings and my conversations with the city's attorney who told me that the church had failed to file the necessary paperwork to continue the exemption. I assumed it was the four year form-not the proof that construction was ongoing. 

No problem, skydog.  We won't hold it against you. 

Kudos to the city assessors and building inspectors for following through on this. In many cases, this type of thing falls through the cracks and nothing is done for years.

The clam's attorney, Nick Mingione, is proving to be quite an ass clown.

They still owe the $16,702 and the $44,196?  Or has that changed?

[skydog]

According to the judicial website, the church has been defaulted for failure to plead and the matter is scheduled for a pre-trial conference on September 30, 2011.  http://civilinquiry.jud.ct.gov/CaseDetail/PublicCaseDetail.aspx?DocketNo=NNHCV106014252S

I haven't checked the file and this default may apply to either their special defenses and/or counter-claim. It most likely pertains only to the counter-claim as there is usually no reason to file a responsive pleading to a special defense.

The special defense and counter-claim are both based on the church's claim that they were not notified of the change in tax status. If the default applies to both, the court will hear no evidence on that issue; if the default applies only to the counter-claim, then the church may use the lack of notice as a defense to the foreclosure but the court cannot award them damages.

In many cases, the judges will vacate a default so until a judgment is entered, while bad news for the church, it is not the end of the case. . .yet!

The case may resolve tomorrow (9-30-11) at the pre-trial. There is a huge backlog of foreclosure cases and the judges are pressuring the attorneys and parties to resolve the matters without trial. I suspect that the church's ability to pay any judgment is really at the heart of the matter and wonder if and to what extent, the mother church will bail them out.

One other question I have is whether the church is current on the mortgage payments. The failure to pay taxes is most certainly a violation of the terms of the note and mortgage. The church has to know there is little to no chance of success and continuing to make payments for property that will be lost makes no business sense. There is no reason for the bank to initiate a separate foreclosure because, as junior \ lien holders, they have what is called a right of redemption to the property. If the property is ordered auctioned, the bank will generally bid the amount due for taxes plus the amount of their note. They will either own the property or any subsequent bid, which must be higher than their bid, will be enough to pay their debt. If the judgement is of strict foreclosure, the church will be given a "law day" with which to pay the taxes or lose the property. If they fail to redeem, the bank will simply pay the taxes and take title to the property.

[skydog]

Well apparently the judicial pre-trial was not fruitful and the matter has been claimed for the trial list. I am guessing that those involved are not impressed or amused by the church's antics.

I checked the court files today and there are some corrections to my earlier posts. The church was not defaulted; it was Webster Bank that was defaulted. The other lien holders, Greater New Haven Water Pollution Control Authority and South Central CT Regional Water Authority, were defaulted earlier this year. Webster Bank was defaulted in August for failing to file an answer the the complaint.

The entry of a default is not a judgment. It just moves the case to the next phase of the proceeding. In this case, the defaulted parties are precluded from offering any defense to the city's foreclosure. As a practical matter, it is of no import. The only issue before the court is whether the tax liens are senior to the other liens (which they are), the amount owed, if any (this is where the church's special defense and counter-claim come in), and whether the debt has been paid. The junior lien holders (Bank, water and pollution authorities) have no defense and would have been defaulted on that ground (Failure to Disclose a Defense) if they had not already been defaulted. The junior lien holders have been made defendants because the statute requires they be cited as defendants. The statute requires they be cited because they have a legal interest in the subject property that may extinguished by the action.

At the trial, the court will the city's evidence pertaining to the assessment of tax along with the city's failure to renew the tax exemption. The city will claim that notice of this was sent in January, 2009; the church will say they were not notified until January, 2010 (they are religious people, so we know they don't lie). The court, after hearing the evidence, will make a decision. The decision will enter judgment on for the city and church on the city's complaint and the church's counter-claim. If the city wins both (likely result) the property will be appraised (if not done already to determine if there is sufficient equity in the property to pay off all debt that is secured by the property.

If the value of the property is not sufficient to satisfy all the debts, it will order a strict foreclosure. In that case, the court will assign law days to the church and junior lien holders. These parties have what is known as an "equity of redemption". If the church pays the taxes, plus attorney fees and court costs, they will have redeemed the property. The interest of the junior lien holders will remain on the property. If the church fails to redeem, their interest is foreclosed and the next senior lien holder, on its law day, may redeem the property by paying the tax due. If they fail to do so, their interest in the property will be foreclosed and so on until the final law day when the last lien holder's equity of redemption has been foreclosed. If no party redeems, the city will take title to the property free free of any of the foreclosed encumbrances.

If the appraisal of the property shows that there is sufficient equity to pay all the encumbrances, the court will order a foreclosure by sale. It will appoint a committee of sale to auction the property. At the auction, any of the junior lien holders may bid. The successful bidder, will generally have to bid more than the total debt securing the property as the junior lien holders usually enter a bids equalling the amount of the prior encumbrances, plus the amount of their debt. If the purchase price exceeds all the debt, the court will usually approve the sale. Any funds over those needed to pay the lien holders will be returned to the church. If the purchase price will not cover these obligations, the judgment may be converted to a strict foreclosure.

[ethercat]

Thanks for the reporting, skydog!

I don't know how much they may owe to various other parties, but the value is almost certainly more than enough to pay the $65,000 in taxes, considering that they bought it for $1.5 million in 2003.  Is there any way to know how much they owe Webster Bank and the water dept?

[Mary_McConnell]

Thanks for the reporting, skydog!
I don't know how much they may owe to various other parties, but the value is almost certainly more than enough to pay the $65,000 in taxes, considering that they bought it for $1.5 million in 2003.  Is there any way to know how much they owe Webster Bank and the water dept?

https://www.uslandrecords.com
https://www.uslandrecords.com/ctlr/controller?commandflag=searchByNameID&optflag=SearchCommand&county=ct009&userid=null&userCategory=7&nameid=298625&doctype=All&partytype=&name=CHURCH%2BOF%2BSCIENTOLOGY%2BOF%2BCONNECTICUT%2BINC&officeid=60&fromdate=01/02/1959&todate=10/09/2011&lastname=Church+of+scientology


CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY OF CONNECTICUT INC  08/16/2010 12:35:21  Grantor  9193  LIS PENDENS      2  RE/08585/35 
  CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY OF CONNECTICUT INC  09/15/2003 10:40:00  Grantor  17894  MISCELLANEOUS      2  RE/06550/289 
  CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY OF CONNECTICUT INC  09/15/2003 10:39:00  Grantor  17893  ASSIGNMENT      11  RE/06550/278 
  CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY OF CONNECTICUT INC  09/15/2003 10:34:00  Grantor  17892  MORTGAGE      32  RE/06550/246 
  CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY OF CONNECTICUT INC  09/15/2003 10:32:00  Grantee  17891  WARRANTY      2  RE/06550/244 

I would spring for the $32 required to get a copy of the mortgage, or $11 to get the Assignment of Rents contract ( which usually states the amount of the mortgage ) but I don't want to waste my money and find out I can't get it in the formats I want. I don't want to print it to my printer and then try to make a PDF of it, as I think I need a separate program for that.

The formats the county provides at this site make it hard, I believe, to create a clear PDF of it all. .png is usually not very visible and I am not sure I could print it to my pdf program to begin with. I have not been successful in printing any .Tiff files into a pdf to date


MESSAGE FROM THE CLERK
The Town Clerk's Office preserves and protects city records and provides a wide range of services to the public in a professional and courteous manner. The Town Clerk is responsible for recording and indexing city land records; issuing and recording vital records, including marriage licenses, birth certificates, death certificates and burial & cremation permits; issuing hunting, fishing and dog licenses; and keeping notary, justice of the peace and campaign finance records. Election-related duties include the issuance of absentee ballots and preparation of state election reports.

Pay-Per Access Service
The index search will be free of charge. To view any image you will be charged at the rate of $1.00 per page of the document. You will be able to see the number of pages on the results screen before viewing the document. While viewing the document, you can print one page or multiple pages for no additional charge. To become a pay-per access user simply fill out the registration form, choose a Member ID and Password for future visits.

Certified Copy of a Document
Please contact or visit the county recorder's office for a certified copy of a document.

Quick Document Viewer
Using the Quick Document Viewer you will be able to view any image from our extensive database in .PNG format. These PNG images are lower quality for faster access and do not require a plug-in to be installed on your computer. To view any image you will be charged for the entire document at the rate of $1 per document. You will be able to see the number of pages on the results screen before viewing the document. While viewing the document, you can print one page or multiple pages for no additional charge. This viewer is not recommended for printing documents, but it is available. For better results use the High Quality/Printable Viewer.

High Quality/Printable Viewer
Using the High Quality/Printable Viewer will give you best results in .TIFF format. This will require installing a TIFF plug-in on your computer. The plug-in is available at no charge. Download instructions are provided on the Search Page. To view any image you will be charged for the entire document at the rate of $1 per document. You will be able to see the number of pages on the results screen before viewing the document. While viewing the document, you can print one page or multiple pages for no additional charge. For a printout of the image, simply click the print button at the top of your browser window or the print button provided in the TIFF viewer.

Download your Image Document
For the Download option you may save a copy of the complete document to your local hard disk.

Email your Image Document
Using the email option will give you the ability to email the image document to your account email address. This option is for subscribed users only.

https://www.uslandrecords.com/ctlr/controller

[skydog]

Trial has been set for February 10, 2012 at 9:30AM. That may change so stay tuned.

http://civilinquiry.jud.ct.gov/CaseDetail/PublicCaseDetail.aspx?DocketNo=NNHCV106014252S

[ethercat]

Thanks for keeping us on top of it, skydog!

[skydog]

One of the differences between the Atlanta and New Haven litigation is the relative swiftness that this matter has come to trial. I am not surprised as the city's attorney (Al Onorato) is really a no bullshit type of guy and is not going to play the discovery and deposition games with the young yahoo representing the church. (Nick Mingione). On the other hand, Mingione, can't play that game either because 1) I don't think the church has enough to pay him; and 2) legal fees will be awarded to Onorato in the foreclosure but there is no law that would allow for legal fees if the church prevails on the counter-claim.

With the help of Pooks, I was able to find out that one of the partners in Mingione's law firm was a high school class mate of Heidi Yanavich (maiden name Ayer) who is a long time member (over thirty years) of the cult. Her father Lloyd Ayer and sister Holly (been married at least twice) were members but I believe they both left. Heidi was the ethics officer years ago and I believe was with the Guardian's Office at one point. I believe that is the reason their firm gets the dubious distinction of being designated "clam mouth-piece". If anyone has any current information on these folks, please let me know. If Heidi still works for the church it is part time as her main job is with McCue Mortgage (I don't think they are a Scientology Co. but could be wrong).  Another reason may be that Onorato's office is directly across the street from Mingione's.

I can only imagine the line of bs being poured on any public that may be left in New Haven. Onorato shares space with several psychiatrists and is no doubt double dipping getting paid by both the city (actually the church  ) and the psych industry of death. I have warned Al about how fucked up these people can be but others may want to drop him a line and advise him to watch his back.

I was in New Haven Wed. and dropped by the org. The first floor was abandoned and it didn't look like there was much going on on the second floor.

[ethercat]

That's some interesting information, skydog. 

Nick Mingione: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/nick-mingione/13/634/aa6
Attorney
Fasano Ippolito & Lee
June 1999 – Present

State Sen. Leonard A. Fasano: http://ctmirror.org/node/288
Occupation:
Lawyer, Fasano, Ippolito & Lee

http://ctsenaterepublicans.com/home-fasano/

Fasano, Ippolito & Lee, a law firm which apparently doesn't have a web site of their own, choosing to use Linkedin as their web presence: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/fasano-ippolito-lee-llc/1b/779/8a1

Nicholas Mingione: B.S. Western New England College, 2003; J.D. Western New England College School of Law, 2006. Nicholas concentrates in the areas of Foreclosure, Real Estate, Including Residential and Commercial Closings, Business Trust, Estate Planning, Corporations, Partnerships, Limited Liability Companies, Contracts, Land Use, Planning and Zoning.

And this firm has a partner who is a high school classmate of Heidi Yanavich, a 30+ year member of Scientology.

I wonder if this State Senator Leonard A. Fasano possibly related to a State Senator Mike Fasano in Florida?
http://www.sptimes.com/2004/07/19/Tampabay/Striving_for_mainstre.shtml

City and state officials help Scientologist Joanie Sigal kick off the church’s 11th annual Winter Wonderland carnival in downtown Clearwater. Seated, from left, are Clearwater Council Member Hoyt Hamilton, state Sen. Mike Fasano, Clearwater City Manager Bill Horne and Aaron McGlon, Clearwater Area Director for the Boys & Girls Clubs.

Uploaded with ImageShack.us


Good to hear Al is Protected by Psychs.  Also good to hear that the New Haven org was pretty dead to all outside appearances.

[skydog]

Heidi's classmate was Ippolito (Hamden Hall class of 1975) who I have never met. Don't know whether Len Fasano is related to the Florida Fasano but he may be. Fasano was a classmate of mine in law school years ago but I haven't seen him since then. He ran for class president in the final year and lost to a kid (can't remember his name) that during the election offered a "peppercorn" to anyone that would vote for him. (A contract must be supported by consideration-the rule being that one could sell Blackacre for a peppercorn). The kid he ran against would never have won but for this rather clever campaign. Fasano complained that the election was invalid because of this promise. By most, he was considered a poor sport as a result. The firm used to have a website, but I can't find it now. Al Onorato used to be in the state senate years ago as a democrat.

I don't know Mingione but he appears to be perfect for his current role.
http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2011/05/02/news/shoreline/doc4dbf424ebb05d579608309.txt?viewmode=2
http://northbranford.patch.com/articles/town-council-hears-comments-from-pietrandreas-lawyer

[skydog]

The trial has been rescheduled from 2-10-12 to 4-13-12.

[mefree]

Thanks for the update!

[ethercat]

Yes, thanks for the update. 

Aaargh!  They're making us wait!   

[skydog]

Trial has been postponed until June 8, 2012.