Horton Plays the Blame Game

"You really should call him. I am sure he would talk to you. You have some duty to try to find out both sides of the story."

That's how one of my readers reacted to my post, Horton: Big Mouth, Fat Wallet & Tax Liens. So yesterday, that's exactly what I did.

I told you that State Representative candidate Michael Horton, who is running against Justin Simmons, has had three tax liens in three different states. In Lehigh County, a Department of Revenue lien for $1,872 was filed in 2005, and paid in 2007. In California, there's a 2001 lien for $4,759 in back taxes. Another $1278 property tax lien was filed in Rhode Island in 2001. This VP of Fortune 500 companies also had a car repossessed in the '90s.

Rhode Island Lien: Horton wasn't ready for this one. He told me he's owned seven homes since 1991, and would never be able to qualify for a loan if his credit history were bad. But until very recently, banks were handing out mortgages to anyone, and judgments in one state could easily be overlooked in another, I countered. He really had no explanation for this lien, and suggested that it must have been his lender's mix-up or the result of a re-assessment. He noted that the address is 82 Wheeler Avenue, but he owned 82-84 Wheeler Avenue. He then scoffed at the $1278 amount. "Do you know how much money I was making at the time?" he asked. I don't, but pointed out that even wealthy people lose their homes if they don't pay their taxes.

California Liens: There are actually three liens in California, but two of them were filed erroneously. Horton insists that all three liens were filed in error and were the result of a rollover on which he paid taxes in Pennsylvania. He claimed to have evidence that all three liens were filed erroneously, and offered to fax the paperwork to me. His explanation seems reasonable.

Pennsylvania Lien: Horton claims this is the result of his divorce. and that everything has been settled for some time. Not quite. Late last year, Horton was cited for contempt when his wife's tax return was intercepted over unpaid federal income tax that they both owed. Horton was ordered to pay his ex-wife $900 per month for the next five months.

Repossessed car: Horton did buy a Lincoln Continental, and granted Air Products Credit Union a security interest in that car, along with an Oldsmobile. When he lost his job at Air Products, his loan was renegotiated, but he was still unable to make payments. As a result, the Lincoln was repossessed, but he was somehow able to sell the Olds without the knowledge or consent of the credit union.

Horton claims the Lincoln was a lemon.

Military Service: Horton is an '85 West Point grad, and did see combat in Central America in 1989. I have no reason to doubt that claim. He left the military a Captain after "6 years, 3 months and 11 days." He went to work for Air Products as a recruiter, and tells me they would never have hired him if he had a checkered military career. But he declined to produce his DD214, which would answer all questions about his military service He tells me he is a life member and "paid for life" member in the VFW and American Legion, and that status is only granted to people with an honorable discharge.

Roots: Horton grew up in Camden, Quakertown and Marlton, NJ.

Debate: Horton acknowledges he came on too strong during his Business Matter debate. He blames host Tony Iannelli, claiming he was encouraged to jump in and mix it up to make the show more interesting.

My conclusion? Horton likes to blame everyone else for his own problems.

In the meantime, House Dems have dropped another $31,000 for cable TV ads. This is on top of $57,000 worth of TV commercials on WFMZ.