Westchester Democrats “Extremely Concerned” and “Disappointed”
William Wagstaff
By Dan Murphy
Westchester District Attorney candidate Williams Wagstaff did not pay his Federal Income Taxes over a six year period, totaling more than $189,000. The story broke in the Journal News, by reporter David Mackay Wilson. www.lohud.com/story/news/politics/2024/05/01/westchester-ny-da-candidate-william-wagstaff-irs-tax-debt-paid-after-campaign-launch/73512765007/.
Wagstaff did not pay off his tax bill until the middle of his campaign for District Attorney. Wagstaff, Susan Cacace, and Adeel Mirza are running in an upcoming Democratic primary on June 25.
Wagstaff did not find his tax troubles worthy of mention to Westchester democratic leaders we spoke to, who were concerned and disappointment and had no knowledge of this before the story broke.
Mackay Wilson’s story includes one year, in 2020, where Wagstaff didn’t pay $112,712. The tax liens filed against Wagstaff by the IRS is public record in the County Clerk’s office.
Wagstaff’s staff tried to explain the unpaid taxes in the story by claiming that Wagstaff was waiting for settlements, from civil rights cases that Wagstaff represented, to come in.
Westchester democrats we spoke to had two concerns: One, that Wagstaff’s explanation doesn’t make sense, and that members of the Westchester Democratic Committee should have been informed of this matter while they were interviewing Wagstaff for their nomination.
I: Tax and Income Questions Remain: Wagstaff earned a nice salary during the years when he did not pay his taxes. How do we know about his income? Because he filed a 2020 return in which he estimated that he owed the IRS $112,712. If Wagstaff owed $112k in taxes, his income was 3-4 times that, estimated around $350,000. That type of income would raise the question, if you made that much money, why couldn’t you pay your taxes?
“When I read the article, I was extremely concerned, » said Westchester Democratic Committee vice-chair Ximena Francella. “The position of District Attorney is someone who enforces the law, and the fact that he didn’t pay his taxes for six years says that he has difficulty managing his own finances. If he can’t manage his own finances, how can he run the office of District Attorney?
“If he wasn’t running for office, was he going to pay his taxes? None of us are happy paying our taxes but it’s the responsible thing to do. He was not being responsible.”
II-Wagstaff has also been earning a salary from the City of Mount Vernon as a special prosecutor concerning disciplinary proceeding for Mt. Vernon police officers. That salary has not been released or disclosed.
III-Wagstaff loaned his campaign more than $50,000 before he paid his tax bill.
“I’m extremely disappointed that the candidate didn’t see fit to bring this up much earlier in the campaign,” said Eastchester Democratic Chair John Filiberti. “This is the kind of information that democrats who participated in the convention should have been made aware of. And if he had an explanation, then he should have shared it with all of us who were there.”
“The explanation in the LOHUD article that highlighted the six years’ worth of tax liabilities, also doesn’t make sense. If you haven’t received payment for settlements to be made later, you don’t incur a tax liability until you receive the funds.
“How can you make the argument that you weren’t making enough money to pay your taxes, when you apparently had income of over $300,000?”. “If the people of Westchester want to vote for somebody with this type of tax delinquent history, they can, but they should know all the facts before they vote.”
Yonkers Democratic Party Chair Tom Meier said that Wagstaff has touted in his campaign how he can manage a business better than his opponents. “What business owes the IRS that much money and can’t pay their taxes?
“He should have shared this with us. He made money from the City of Mount Vernon in addition to his law firm, but he chose to do something else with the money. Instead, he should have settled his debt with America.”
Wagstaff has received a number of endorsements from several Westchester democrats, including State Senator Jamaal Bailey, Assemblymember Dana Levenberg, Assemblymember Chris Burdick, Peekskill Mayor Vivian McKenzie, Westchester County Legislator Tyrae Woodson-Samuels, and Mount Vernon Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard.
“I think all of the democrats who endorsed him need to take a second look at who they endorsed and figure out if this is the person you want to be District Attorney of Westchester,” said Meier.
The LoHud story states that testimony from a recent election law court case where Wagstaff was allowed to remain on the ballot included information about his tax troubles.
