Westchester County District Attorney Mimi Rocah is looking into property taxes paid, and eluded by the Trump Organization for its Trump National Golf Club, located in Briarcliff Manor, according to reports published in the NY Times. DA Rocah’s office is said to have subpoenad records from the Town of Ossining, which set property taxes for the golf course, which was recently the site of a NY GOP rally attended by the former President.
The possible violation of law would be if the Trump Organization underestimated the value of the golf club. Property taxes in Briarcliff Manor are among the highest in Westchester County, and Westchester County property taxes are the highest in the United States.
The Trump Organization called the Times story and the accusations that the golf club did anything illegal concerning property taxes “completely false and incredibly irresponsible.”
Trump and his organization have not yet been charged in Westchester County with any crimes. Before winning election in Westchester as DA in 2020, Rocah served as a legal analyst for MSNBC. The Times story quotes her on one MSNBC show as saying about Trump in 2019, “We have a criminal in the White House.”
No comment from Rocah’s office on this, or any ongoing investigation. Leading the investigation for Rocah into the Trump Organization is Elliot Jacobson, according to the Times. Jacobson spent more than 20 years as a prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s office in the Southern District of New York, where Rocah also once worked.
Trump National filed a Tax Certiorari case against the Town of Ossining, which the town settled, giving the golf club a 30% reduction in their property taxes. A refund of $875,000 was given to the Trump Organization from the Briarcliff Board of Education— $588,155, The Town of Ossining $20,445, The Vilage of Ossning $140,376 and Westchester County $111,989.
State Supreme Court Judge Bruce Tolbert approved the settlement and set the current taxable value of Trump National at $9.8 Million. Sleepy Hollow Country Club, also located in Briarcliff Manor, also recently received a large, six figure tax reduction and refund.
Who pays for the refund to the Trump Organization? The taxpayers of Briarcliff Manor, the Village of Ossining and the Town of Ossining.
The other interesting tidbit from Trump National is that the former President met his social media assistant, Dan Scavino, at the club. Scavino was a caddie at first, then moved up to General Manager and went to Washington upon Trump’s election in 2016. Scavino was recently subpeonaed by congressional investigators looking into the Jan. 6 attacks on the Capitol.
