Ed and Elaine Brown Property Sold at Auction

[Pantherphil]

From Boston.com

Two New Hampshire properties — including a 100-acre compound at the center of a 2007 armed standoff with federal agents that featured underground escape routes — were finally sold at auction Thursday.

The auction punctuated a two-year effort to sell the properties belonging to tax evaders Ed and Elaine Brown, which attracted no bidders at another auction last year because authorities couldn’t guarantee that they weren’t booby trapped.

The Browns became anti-government celebrities when they held federal agents at bay for nine months after they were convicted of tax evasion and refused to surrender to U.S. marshals. Security was tight Thursday, with more marshals than bidders present.

New Hampshire businessman James Hollander bought both properties during a federal auction that attracted seven bidders and lasted barely 15 minutes. Hollander paid $205,000 for the compound in Plainfield and $415,000 for Elaine Brown’s dental office in Lebanon.

[NYGman]

I think someone got a good deal, as long as they don't blow themselves up by accident while checking the place out.

[grixit]

I'd hire a heavy equipment operator and have them drive a roller over the grounds.

[The Observer]

You would first have to napalm the property to get the trees out of the way to use the roller. It is heavily forested.

[notorial dissent]

The problem I can see, is that as inept as this bunch was, could you trust them to actually build something that works as specified? I can well believe they built all kinds of bombs, I just have my doubts that they built them correctly, and that what should set them off may very well not still leaving a chunk of explosive sitting there unknown. That would be my concern.

[Gregg]

I can't help but wonder if either one of them, sitting in a cell late at night, has had their "what the hell was I thinking?" moment yet.

[.]

Ed and Elaine were both unavailable for immediate comment. Fellow inmates said they both blustered and sputtered a lot after being shown the article.

$205,000 for the compound in Plainfield

Ed probably wasted 3 to 5 times that much of Elaine's money building his ridiculous "compound." I rather doubt that he bothered to obtain a single building permit. Just not something Ed would do.

Ed wouldn't pay his income taxes, never mind his property taxes. Imagine his reaction to a "stop-work" order due to a lack of permits. The city or county building department guys could have had their own stand-off early on.

They likely knew that, which is why it was probably built without a single permit from top to bottom and is likely deficient in a hundred respects. Unlikely Ed paid a structural engineer a dime since Ed knows everything.

Ed's monstrosity will probably be bulldozed as soon as the buyer can find a contractor willing to venture onto the property. "Well, I'd love to do it, but my insurer tells me I'm not covered if I put people and equipment on a site that might be booby-trapped. Sorry. Have you tried the U.S. Army? They might like a training range with potentially live ordnance. Or not. Good luck, but I can't help you."

[ArthurWankspittle]

"Have you tried the U.S. Army? They might like a training range with potentially live ordnance. Or not. Good luck, but I can't help you."

This was my thought on the subject. It is about the only way that anyone could do a reasonable job in a professional manner to check the place over.
I'll have to change my signature now too.

[webhick]

They likely knew that, which is why it was probably built without a single permit from top to bottom and is likely deficient in a hundred respects. Unlikely Ed paid a structural engineer a dime since Ed knows everything.

IIRC, Elaine's son is an architect and drew up plans which Ed then modified. Elaine's son may have stated that the structures aren't cool or disavowed himself of the monstrosity. It's been a long time.

[fortinbras]

I was told by a very reliable source that Ed had rigged the house to blow up while he vanished into a very secret underground bunker, leaving authorities to assume that he had also blown up .... and he would resurrect himself some days later to that the lead the nationwide protest he was sure would be triggered by the news that he was dead. That's a scheme you'd expect of a James Bond villain.

I would love to know how he is getting alone in durance vile. Elizabeth, Elaine, who was regarded as sane before she married him, is probably becoming aware of Ed's craziness (and ambition) and how it led her into prison, and I'd love to know how she's getting on as well.

[.]

Elizabeth

Did Elaine change her name?

My assumption has always been that she's just as crazy as Ed is, she's never disavowed anything he's done. In fact, she joined him for the "stand-off" after their initial tax conviction after telling the court that she would do no such thing and would appear for sentencing. She was released on her own recognizance and the rest is history.

Two peas in a pod.

[fortinbras]

My error. Elaine.

[.]

plans which Ed then modified

Aye, there's the rub. But Ed ain't no Hamlet, or even an architect, he's just a dope.

[The Observer]

I was told by a very reliable source that Ed had rigged the house to blow up while he vanished into a very secret underground bunker, leaving authorities to assume that he had also blown up .... and he would resurrect himself some days later to that the lead the nationwide protest he was sure would be triggered by the news that he was dead. That's a scheme you'd expect of a James Bond villain.

Which is why I don't believe any of it, because it sounds exactly like something out a script for a James Bond movie. Your anonymous "very reliable source" cannot provide any evidence that Ed had done anything like this other than to spout rumors and gossip. I have learned long ago that tales that start with "a very reliable source" are anything but true. I suspect that this is motivated by fear and hatred of idiots like the Browns and is done out of a sense or need to pile on top of the crimes that Ed and Elaine already committed and were convicted for. Apparently this "reliable source" thinks that the truth is not enough, so he or she is willing to throw some lies on top of it; too bad this puts them into the same category of the Browns in terms of their intellectual honesty.

[LPC]

I can't help but wonder if either one of them, sitting in a cell late at night, has had their "what the hell was I thinking?" moment yet.

Well, I suppose that maybe... Perhaps.... I guess...

I'm sorry, but no. Who are we kidding.

[fortinbras]

I suspect that almost every convict, or even every defendant on trial even before conviction, has a "What the hell was I thinking?" moment. But, once in prison, facing very long years there, I think it would be natural for every convict to try to convince himself that he wasn't as bad as the prosecutor made out - convicts may want to believe, and over time will come to believe, that they weren't guilty of everything they were accused of, that they had a good excuse for what they did, or even that their crimes are something to be proud of. Twenty years from now, if he lives that long, Ed will probably believe that he was the rightful savior of the nation but that evil govt officials derailed him because they knew of his divinely appointed destiny, etc.

[notorial dissent]

Ed doesn't strike me as the ah ha moment type, he's too stupid and too convinced of his own rectitude. I'm sure that in Ed's mind, or at least what passes for one, he is the victim here, and was sorely tried and abused and conspired against and lied about. I just don't see it ever happening, Ed is the type who has to have someone else to blame for his failings in life. Elaine might be capable of it except she has put herself in the position of not being able to acknowledge that Ed is a total and complete waste of protoplasm and oxygen use, who has systematically destroyed her and her life, and until she can do that she won't get to that point either.

[Dr. Caligari]

I seem to recall (but am too lazy to look it up) that Elaine issued some sort of half-assed apology a couple of years ago. Ed, I am quite certain, is convinced that the government owes him an apology.

[The Observer]

I seem to recall (but am too lazy to look it up) that Elaine issued some sort of half-assed apology a couple of years ago.

It was covered here.

[TheNewSaint]

UPDATE: The Brown compound, and Elaine's dental office, were re-listed for sale in July 2016.

http://www.vnews.com/Former-Brown-prope ... in-3514208

Plainfield — The Plainfield resident who bought the former Center of Town Road home of tax protesters Ed and Elaine Brown at auction last year has put the property back up for sale.

James Hollander, who bought the 103-acre property for $205,000 during the October auction by the federal government, is now asking $329,000 for the former Brown compound, according to a real estate listing by ReMax Upper Valley.

Hollander is also marketing Elaine Brown’s former Lebanon dental office, which he also purchased at the auction.

That story contains a few interesting details. First, the property is believed to be safe now:

ReMax real estate agent Gerry Stark said that federal agents appear to have removed any of the explosives the Browns were believed to have used to booby-trap the property during a nine-month armed standoff with U.S. Marshals in 2007.

“I don’t believe there’s any explosives now,” Stark said. “It’s pretty safe.”

“I think the likelihood of getting blown up is equal to the likelihood of getting hit by lightning,” agreed Town Administrator Steve Halleran.

Some details about the Brown compound:

According to the realty listing, the property includes a 13,950-square-foot house, a generator shed, an attached garage, a separate garage, a small barn and a green house. It has both solar and wind-generated power. The third floor of the house has an entrance to a fourth-floor tower.

Stark said the house is in good condition, but is unfinished.

“It’s not in nearly as bad condition as I expected, since it’s been empty for 10 years,” said Stark. “It will make a nice home for somebody. They’ll have a lot of interesting stories to tell around the campfire.”

According to the listing, Hollander, the owner, “has never lived in the property and has no knowledge of any systems.”

The dental office may have sold by now:

On Glen Road in Lebanon, a second property that the Browns owned and used as a dental office was purchased by Hollander at the October auction, for $415,000, and was listed by ReMax for $599,000.

That property was put under contract by a prospective buyer for an undisclosed price a few months ago, according to Stark.

And, Plainfield still wants its back taxes:

Meanwhile, Plainfield officials say they’re taking the IRS to court over the proceeds of the October auction.

Plainfield and the IRS have been fighting over the $205,000 in sales revenue since the October auction; the town calculates that it is owed $233,000 in back taxes, including $90,000 in penalties and interest.

But the IRS offered the town a far lower figure — $31,000, which reflects the sales price minus about $175,000 the IRS says it has spent maintaining and managing the property since it took ownership around 2007.

Halleran said that a casual inspection of the exterior of the property suggests there has been little to no active maintenance by the federal agency.

“We feel as though we are due more than $31,000,” he said. “It is hard to fathom how you could have spent $174,000 maintaining the property, if you look at the before and after pictures.”

Halleran said that, because the IRS has been slow to document the $175,000 in maintenance charges, the town asked attorney Barry Schuster, of Lebanon, to file a motion in U.S. District Court to compel the IRS to itemize the charges.

Schuster said the IRS has provided a list of categories of expenses, but that it raised more questions than it answered.

“We’ve seen a list but with no itemization. It simply says ‘Browns’ or ‘maintenance,’ general categories but with no explanation,” said Schuster. “There were some categories that did not seem to make sense in terms of chronology.”

And finally, the Browns' stand continues to cause aggravation to others:

Halleran said the town has had to work hard to protect itself from the potential liability posed by wiping the $230,000 off its receivables ledger.

If Plainfield gets no more than the $31,000 offered by the IRS, much of the loss would be addressed by a contingency fund the town has established, while the remainder would come from the town’s unassigned general fund balance, which stands at about $650,000.