Rhode Island’s worst tax delinquents – The Boston Globe

1. Richard Shanley of Warwick, R.I., owes $3.1 million. Shanley did not appear on this list in October 2021, so he has quickly shot to the top spot. Shanley is president of Shanley Transportation Inc., a home delivery company that had its certificate of incorporation revoked in 2018 for failure to file an annual report with the secretary of state.

2. William J. and Marielle T. Reilly of West Palm Beach, Fla., who owned property in Portsmouth, R.I., owe $2.29 million. William Reilly went to prison for failing to pay $1.5 million in federal income taxes. The Reillys, who first made Rhode Island’s top 100 list in 2003, are the parents of former state representative Daniel Reilly.

3. Giovanni Feroce of Newport, R.I., owes $1.39 million. Feroce is a former state senator and CEO of the Alex and Ani jewelry company. He received 3.5 percent of the vote in the 2018 Republican gubernatorial primary.

4. Gerald E. Kent Jr. of Bethel Park, Pa., a former jewelry distributor in Johnston, R.I., owes $1.17 million. In 2018, Kent was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison after admitting to orchestrating a long-running scheme to defraud a debtor finance company of $3.6 million.

5. Ralph M. Mariano of Warwick, R.I., owes $999,581. A former senior systems engineer with the Navy’s Naval Sea Systems Command in Newport, he was sentenced in 2013 to 10 years in federal prison for masterminding a kickback scheme that defrauded the Navy of nearly $18 million.

6. Ronald K. Dillard of Seekonk, Mass., owes $877,929. In 2006, he was charged with being part of a $3-million-a-month organized crime gambling ring.

7. James H. Grover of Tampa, Fla., owes $677,540.

8. Jeffrey A. Anjoorian of East Greenwich, R.I., owes $677,639.

9. John A. Santilli Jr. of Port Saint Lucie, Fla., owes $536,663. In 2022, Santilli pleaded guilty to federal criminal charges, admitting he defrauded investors out of more than $4.2 million in connection with the “Magic Mike Live” stage show in Las Vegas that was based on the “Magic Mike” movies that chronicle the life of a male stripper.

10. Angela P. Raposa of Riverside, R.I., owes $491,802.

Meanwhile, the professional boxer known as Paz has slipped to 14th on the tax delinquent list: Vincent Pazienza of Warwick, R.I., owes $446,343. Paz won two world championships before breaking his neck in a 1991 car crash. His story was told in the 2016 film, “Bleed for This.” In 2019, he received a suspended sentence with probation in a Providence assault case.

Rhode Island Department of Revenue spokesman Paul Grimaldi said the top debtors have received numerous notices. The Division of Taxation sends additional formal notices, by regular and certified mail, to each taxpayer on the list, giving them 30 days’ advance notice that they will appear on the list, which was last updated in October of 2023.

Those on the Top 100 list have chosen not to pay the delinquency and not to enter into a reasonable agreement to pay the outstanding debt in reasonable installments, Grimaldi said.

The tax collection process uses multiple statutory efforts to enforce state laws on tax collection and enforcement, Grimaldi said. To collect these taxes, the state could take civil actions. Any person or entity that owes taxes may not be allowed to renew a sales permit, for example, or may be affected by refund offset programs. They also could be subject to liens, wage levies, and DMV license blocks among other restrictions provided for by statute, he said.

This story first appeared in Rhode Map, our free newsletter about Rhode Island that also contains information about local events, links to interesting stories, and more. If you’d like to receive it via e-mail Monday through Friday, you can sign up here.

Edward Fitzpatrick can be reached at edward.fitzpatrick@globe.com. Follow him @FitzProv.