BEVERLY — Mayoral candidate Jamie Zarella failed to pay taxes on time on multiple occasions over the last three decades, prompting the city, state and federal governments to place liens on his properties, public records show.
A total 15 liens have been placed on Zarella’s business property and homes since the early 1990s for unpaid property taxes, personal income taxes, and business payroll taxes, according to Southern Essex Registry of Deeds records.
Zarella has paid off all the taxes, with the latest payment made to the city in July of this year. He took out nomination papers to run for mayor in May.
The liens span from the early 1990s, for $13,164 in unpaid payroll taxes by Zarella’s business, Big Jim’s Auto Body, to 2022, for $1,845 in taxes owed on his Windsor Road home.
Zarella said the unpaid payroll taxes were due to an illegal scheme by an accountant he had hired to handle his business’ payroll taxes. He identified the accountant as Barry Ginsberg, a Peabody man who pleaded guilty in 2015 to defrauding small-business clients out of money they had given him to pay their federal payroll taxes and was sentenced to prison.
Zarella said the lien for payroll taxes from the early 1990s was when his father, James Zarella Jr., owned the business. A copy of the lien on the Registry of Deeds website, however, identifies the taxpayer as James P. Zarella III.
Liens sought by the city of Beverly were for late water and sewer bills, not property taxes, he said. The city had liens placed on his two homes on Windsor Road and his business on Creek Street eight times from 1997 to 2022, according to records.
Two other liens were placed by the Massachusetts Department of Revenue for unpaid personal income taxes, in 2003 and 2020.
Zarella said all tax records are an “untold story because they don’t show what actually happened.
“As American jurist Oliver Wendell wrote, taxes are what we pay for a civilized society and I have understood that my entire life,” Zarella wrote in an email. “I just wanted to clarify all of that and put it to rest so I can get back to working with great cause and effect to return the city of Beverly back to our citizens.”
A tax lien is a legal claim against the assets of a person or business who fails to pay taxes owed. If the debt is not repaid, the assets may be seized.
Liens for unpaid property taxes in Beverly are issued only after the city has taken several other steps in attempt to receive payments, including a “demand notice,” a “notice of delinquency,” then a “notice of advertisement” informing the taxpayer that the unpaid bill will be advertised in the newspaper as required by law, according to city officials.
If the payment is still not made, the city then files a “tax taking” with the Registry of Deeds, which places a lien on the property. The lien remains in place until the outstanding tax balance, along with any penalties and interest, are paid in full.
Zarella, who is making his first run for public office, is facing Mayor Mike Cahill in the Nov. 7 election. In response to questions for this story, Zarella said he believed the Cahill campaign was responsible for planting the story, although Zarella offered no evidence.
“I believe the allegations are rooted in the Cahill campaign that has chosen to attack my character instead of the important issues of a congested downtown, horrible road conditions and broken bridges,” Zarella wrote in an email. “How dare anyone run against him or call out his decisions as mayor. I’m doing that and I’m standing up for the citizens of Beverly and Cahill is offended and appalled by it.
“In my case, unlike Mayor Cahill who has been on the public dole for the last 30 years, I have been a self-employed business owner all my life.”
When asked for a response, Cahill said Zarella is trying to “distract from and avoid taking responsibility for his own actions by hurling completely false accusations and insults at me.
“I had nothing to do with this,” Cahill wrote in an email. “I have too much respect for our city and for the people who have entrusted me with leading our city.
“I work every day to help make Beverly a better place for all our residents,” he added. “I love and care about this community, and I have the deepest respect for democracy. I respect the people of Beverly. I respect the office of mayor, and I am always mindful of the trust and confidence the voters of Beverly have placed in me. Serving as Beverly’s mayor is a great honor, and I strive every day to be worthy of this honor.”
Staff Writer Paul Leighton can be reached at 978-338-2535, by email at pleighton@salemnews.com, or on Twitter at @heardinbeverly.
