Review : Reading 10.2. Kodak, the Appraiser, and the Assessor : Lots of Back Scratching on Valuation

John Nicole was a real property appraiser who did appraisal work for Eastman Kodak, Inc. Kodak at the request of one of Kodak’s now-former employees, Mark Camarata, who served as Kodak’s director of state and local taxes while employed there. Charles Schwab was the former assessor for the town of Greece, New York, an area that included Kodak headquarters. Kodak is both the largest employer and the largest property owner in the town of Greece. Schwab made reductions completed by Nicolo and Camarata, saved Kodak $31,527,168 in property taxes over a fifteen-year period. But, Schwab did not make those reductions as a matter of assessor policy fond feelings for Kodak, or the goodness of his public servant heart. He made those reductions at the behest of the other two in exchange for payment.
The essence of the arrangement was that the appraiser agreed to split the tax savings fee with the assessor in exchange for the reduction and with the Kodak employee in exchange for hiring him. Camarata entered a guilty plea and agreed to cooperate with federal authorities in their prosecution of the other two of the property tax triumvirate who have been charged with fifty-six counts of fraud, money laundering, and other federal crimes.
When Kodak learned of the schemes, it immediately entered into discussions with the town of Greece for the reappraisal of its properties. Kodak also filed suit against Camarata and others seeking reimbursement from them for the fees that were paid as part of the scheme.