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TagsBY BOB HOLT
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
Bergen County is one if the highest tax paying counties in the nation. But it receives no help from one of its most infamous property owners — Moammar Gadhafi and Libya.
The Libyan government paid $1 million for a multi-million dollar mansion in 1982, six years before its agents blew up Pan Am Flight 103.
The Huffington Post reported the estate, called Thunder Rock, has been the center of controversy for decades, partly because Libya was exempted from local property taxes after winning a court battle in 1985.
In 2009, Gadhafi lost a battle to erect his traveling Bedouin tent on the lawn during a U.S. visit.
According to the latest Census Bureau information, the tax bill for Thunder Rock in 1982 was about $14,000. Last year, the mansion was assessed at $5.5 million, and estimates say the annual taxes would be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Surrounded by a low fence, the nearly 5-acre estate is clearly visible from the busy street. The expansive lawns are neatly trimmed, and a white footbridge crosses the pond at the back of the home. The gray stone exterior and flagpoles give Thunder Rock a castle-like appearance.
The Los Angeles Times reports that at the time of the sale, the mansion boasted 25 rooms and a swimming pool, and was intended mainly as a weekend getaway for the Libyan U.N. ambassador and his family.
Englewood officials estimate that the estate would have generated more than $1 million in property taxes by now, and they have formally requested that Libyan authorities issue a payment in lieu of property taxes.
Officials say they see an opportunity now, amid so much criticism of Libya's crackdown, to possibly collect back taxes or even seize the mansion that has been a source of discord and occasional embarrassment to the city.
According to NorthJersey.com, Englewood Mayor Frank Huttle confirmed that he had quietly set in motion the beginnings of possible legal action against the mansion, which has been owned by Libya since late 1982. Huttle said he had directed the city attorney to attempt to revoke the tax exemption Libya's government has enjoyed for nearly 30 years.
In addition to not paying taxes, the estate has occasionally received extra police protection from Englewood, most recently in mid-February after Gadhafi ordered his military to attack protesters.
