ORLEANS — The Internal Revenue Service has seized two properties in Orleans owned by David Delgizzi of Weston, an absentee landlord notorious on the Outer Cape for allowing the buildings he owns and rents out to fall into disrepair and for his years of unpaid property taxes. The IRS plans to auction the properties in a single sale on April 23 to recover some of the income taxes Delgizzi owes.
The two single-family houses, at 14 and 18 Brewster Cross Road, are assessed by the town for a combined total of $955,400. The house at number 14 is a 1,364-square-foot three-bedroom with two bathrooms, built in 1790; the house at number 18 is a 1,129-square-foot two-bedroom built in 1910.
The highest bid at the auction may not match the combined assessed value of the properties, and, even if it does, it’s not enough to cover what Delgizzi owes in state and federal income taxes. Currently that stands at $2,261,728, with $379,380 owed to the state and $1,882,348 owed to the IRS.
Roger Sweeney, a property appraisal and liquidation specialist in the New Hampshire IRS office, said in an email that the Brewster Cross properties are the only Delgizzi parcels the IRS has up for auction at present.
Bidders may drive by the Orleans properties, but they won’t get to look inside the houses. They will have to bid on the properties “as is.” The auction will take place at 1 p.m. at the IRS office at 410 Amherst St. in Nashua, N.H. Bids may also be mailed to that office prior to the auction. The minimum bid is $49,432.33.
The auction notice, published by the IRS, includes other liens on the property being auctioned. On the list is a mortgage from a Texas lender on 14 Brewster Cross for $175,468 and a Brewster property tax bill for $601. The IRS will determine if any of the claims in those liens are superior to the federal government’s. If they are not, those debts would be extinguished.
According to Truro attorney Michael Fee, proceeds from the sale will be divided according to the priority of the liens. Massachusetts, he said, is a “first in time, first in right” state. Under that rule, the mortgage would be paid first because it dates back to 2005, and the IRS would likely take what’s left. Any liens that are not superior to the income tax liens, based on when they were filed, would be extinguished.
Sometimes the banks that hold mortgages decide to bid on properties being auctioned, Fee said. “Delgizzi probably is negotiating with everybody as well to see what it is that he can do to remain in possession of the properties,” he added.
Delgizzi Evades U.S. Attorney
The upcoming auction follows several unsuccessful attempts by the IRS to secure Delgizzi’s income tax documents for 2022. The agency would use those to add what was owed for that year to Delgizzi’s growing tab.
Last fall, the IRS asked the U.S. attorney’s office to put some pressure on Delgizzi, who lives in a $2-million house in Weston with his wife, Carolyn. Last year he was served with a summons to U.S. District Court to explain why he had ignored several requests from the IRS to provide tax documents.
But the District Court has so far had no more success at getting compliance from Delgizzi than the IRS did. He failed to show up for the initial Nov. 6 show-cause hearing, notifying the court clerk on the day of the hearing that he had to travel unexpectedly. Magistrate Judge Jennifer Boal granted a continuance to Dec. 13; again, Delgizzi was a no-show. He asked for another short continuance, saying he had been required to travel to Ohio to care for his daughter, who was sick. The judge agreed to continue the hearing to Jan. 31 but warned she would not be inclined to continue the case any further.
Delgizzi was directed to attend the Jan. 31 hearing in person, but he contacted the court on the morning of the hearing to ask to attend over Zoom, a request the judge granted. Delgizzi was then unable to connect online, however, and he told the court clerk he could not call in. He agreed to send the requested tax documents to the IRS by Feb. 15.
Delgizzi sent some documents by overnight mail the day before the deadline, but the submission was far from complete. Joshua Levy, the acting U.S. attorney, asked the court to recommend that Delgizzi be found in contempt if the missing documents did not swiftly arrive.
That is the last of the public documents in the case that the District Court has made available. A spokesman for the U.S. attorney said the case is pending, so no information is available beyond what is posted for the public.
Weston officials have filed to take ownership of the Delgizzis’ house at 3 Bittersweet Lane in state Land Court for nonpayment of property taxes. That case remains pending.
