District’s top 25 delinquent taxpayers owe $3.25M

The District’s top 25 delinquent taxpayers, a collection of individuals and businesses from D.C. to Illinois to South Carolina to Paris, owe more than $3.25 million, the D.C. tax office reports.

A healthy chunk of money, certainly, but nothing compared with what the top alleged scofflaws owed in sales and income taxes less than two years ago.

At the top of the revised list is Reyes Holdings LLC of Rosemont, Ill., owner of Premium Distributors of Washington, D.C. According to the Office of Tax and Revenue, Reyes owes the District government $372,906,96. The Washignton Business Journal forwarded Reyes representatives the tax office report, but they have not yet offered to comment.

When the delinquent list was last updated, in fall 2011, 18 individuals and businesses accounted for more than $25 million owed to District coffers. One person, attorney Barry Morewitz, was responsible for $17.8 million of it. Morewitz, whose house was seized by the D.C. tax office in November 2011, no longer appears on the list.

Neither does William Webster, who owed $856,439, or Russell Winter, who owed $823,001, or Daniel and Myra Harrison, who had run up an unpaid tax bill of $725,373 or Nicholas Cho (of Murky Coffee) or TGR Inc. (doing business as Teatro Goldini).

Actually, the new list, current as of Jan. 20, has a completely different set of people and companies — everyone from the 2011 version either came into compliance or was purged for one reason or another (statute of limitations, for example).

Second on the updated list, at $273,819.24, is DHW LLC. There is little information about the company besides an address, 2101 E St. NW, the American Foreign Service Association.

Fifth on the list is David Blee of Greenwich Parkway NW, who owes, according to the tax office, $166,560.59. Blee, is, or was, managing director of The Forrestal Group and executive director of the U.S. Transport Council. He could not be reached for comment.

John Clyburn, a former D.C. contractor, owes $91,215.85, according to the tax office, while Excel Building Services Inc. of Fairfax owes $89,063.60, and Forensic Sciences Medical Group $84,489.15.

James Lahey, whose address is listed by the tax office as 56 Rue De Turbigo in Paris, owes $80,178.19. And D.C. claims it is due $80,166.43 from Judith Potter of Rock Hill, S.C.

CUS4 Inc., a defunct Virginia corporation, owes $121,178.16, according to tax office records.

Reporter’s Note: This report was eight steps from linking that CUS4 bill to a current Obama administration official. The address tied to the debt, provided by the OTR, belongs to a Department of Education appointee, but as it turns out, the debt is owed by the former owner of the home.

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