Diane Hendricks Hornswoggle

By Jeff Simpson 

I have covered Diane Hendricks before here at CogDis, where I pointed out that Beloit College is a superior academic institution, Someone who was The Donald's main fundraiser, did not also belong on the Board of Trustees of this great institution.   One or the other.   Unfortunately money speaks and she was allowed to continue doing both!

Now, thanks to Urban Milwaukee's Michael Horne, we find out that Ms. Hendricks not only supports racist, sexist, bigoted, treasonous candidates for political office, but that she is a scam artist herself.

According to a 2016 Forbes listing, Wisconsin’s Diane Hendricks is the nation’s wealthiest self-made woman, with a net worth of nearly $5 billion. Yet she paid no Wisconsin income tax in the years 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2014, according to a report by Cary Spivak and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
It appears the Republican supporter and Trump economic adviser also gets a break on the taxes on the 228-acre property consisting of 14 parcels where she lives in the unincorporated community of Afton in the Town of Rock, a mostly rural area between Beloit and Janesville in Rock County, Wisconsin.
Today, the 120-acre main parcel — identified by officials as the residence of Diane Hendricks has an assessed land valuation of only $75,600, or $630 per acre, while four adjacent lots of less than an acre apiece also owned by Hendricks are each assessed at $22,500. This disparity alone raises red flags.
As for improvements on the property, billionaires have been known to spend extravagantly on their properties, and this one is a dandy, with woods, ponds, plazas, pathways and party areas. However, the property assessment compiled by Accurate Appraisal, LLC., with whom the Town of Rock contracts, shows only a modest 1,663-square-foot frame residence on the property, constructed in 1993 and valued at $390,000.

Very nice, a multi billionaire likes to live modestly, in the area where her husband was able to make his billions...... But wait there is more!!!

When speaking to her friends or tooting her own horn, she is not living quite so modestly at all, as this from Forbes magazine in :

 Diane Hendricks (is)… transforming a modest rustic home in Afton, Wis. into a 10,000-square-foot dream house–one she’d planned to share with Ken.

For those of you scoring at home, 10,000 is considerably bigger than 1,663.   A quick Google earth search of the subject shows a home much bigger than 1663 sq ft.

Now we have her own words, and our own eyes to see Ms. Hendricks is cheating the local taxpayers by severely undervaluing her property to avoid paying taxes.  

That should spring the local community into action right?   Not so fast! Michael Horne again did some digging:

In researching this property for a House Confidential, column, it became clear the descriptions of the home did not match the assessment records. So I checked the neighboring addresses on the Town of Rock website to see if the home might be located at one of them. A 120-acre property might just be the beginning of the Hendricks holdings, and maybe the home itself was on an out-lot. However, this search was unsuccessful, with no property remotely matching the description of the Hendricks home.
On Tuesday, April 18th, I sent an e-mail to Deborah Bennett, the Clerk/Treasurer of the Town of Rock asking her for the parcel number for the Hendricks property. The town hall is located in Afton, about 1,000 feet due south of the Hendricks estate, so I relied on local knowledge to help me out.
“I am having a difficult time sifting through the assessment files of the Town of Rock to find a property that matches the numerous written descriptions of the home of Diane Hendricks. Could you please direct me to the parcel file for the Hendricks home, which is said to be approximately 10,000 s.f.?”
On a Saturday, April 22nd, Bennett replied: “The parcel number for Dian (sic) Hendricks home is 6-17-255.”
This was the same number I had already reviewed, but I entered it into the website and re-checked it: the sub-parcels for that parcel number were all under one acre, including a .76 acre site valued at $100 and registered to the Hendricks Family Cemetery Association, which is presumed to be the burial site of Ken Hendricks. But still no 10,000 square foot home.
I related my findings to Bennett and repeated my request, this time with a photograph of the home, just in case she was not familiar with the most famous property in her community.
I also contacted Accurate Appraisal, LLC.

OK Deborah Bennett drops the ball, maybe because she is scared of the widow or worries that someone close to her will be punished.   That's understandable in today's environment where the right wing in charge makes sure anyone who questions them pays.  

So Mr. Horne contacted the  appraisal company because a company wont throw their reputation out the door to accommodate one person would they?

Accurate does the assessments for over 100 Wisconsin communities, including the Milwaukee suburbs of Brown Deer, Cudahy, Glendale and Shorewood. I contacted the company via e-mail on April 27th, and copying it to the Town of Rock Clerk/Treasurer.
I called the firm the next day, and was told that my request had been sent to “the appropriate party.”
On May 1st, the appropriate party had still not replied to my request, and I e-mailed the firm again. I then received a return all-caps e-mail from the firm’s receptionist:
Given how close the Hendricks property is to the town hall, it’s hard to imagine the assessor would not know about Hendricks’ huge home. And in any event, under Wisconsin law, municipal assessors are obliged to discover all real and personal property that is subject to tax. Physical inspection of properties, especially those with changes of ownership or construction permits, is the preferred method to keep properties assessed as close to 100 percent of market value in properties. That does not appear to have been done.

 I guess the billionaire widow is so popular and so many local people are busy chasing her money that they are willing to ruin the reputation of their own company.  

However, despite the fact that she is cheating the State and local taxpayers by pulling a scam on them to get out of paying her property taxes(even though I would bet that she has no problem calling the police and fire, etc..when needed), I still feel the need to cut her some slack.

If Ms. Hendricks was forced to actually pay her property taxes, she might not have enough money left to pay for the Scott Walker Legal Defense Fund We all know without being able to hire TWO of the nations best criminal defense firms, Mr. Walker might be living in a different less cozy location.  


 In Case You Were Wondering, what does her modest simple abode look like:

Schimel Runs/WIggy Fumes

By Jeff Simpson

Now that Niedermeier has decided that two terms of not doing his job is plenty, the field is wide open for both parties in the next Attorney General race.  While many mull it, fellow right wing hack and Waukesha County District attorney Brad Schimel is the first to jump in. 

Apparently he saw how easy it was for Van Hollen to make taxpayer money and do little work and he was the first to sign up.  

I am sure the first question you asked yourself was --- "who?".  Let me introduce you.   Mr. Schimel is known for two things.  

1.  He is the man that gave convicted felon Scott "Scooter" Jensen a get out of jail free card!  

2.   Jimmy Wigderson does not like him!

I’m told that some people downtown did not understand what I meant when I referred to Waukesha County District Attorney Brad Schimel as “gelded” in last Thursday’s Waukesha Freeman. I was referring to the practice of removing the part of a male animal’s anatomy responsible for producing testosterone in order to make the animal more docile.
Docility when it comes to government openness is becoming the hallmark of Schimel’s tenure in office. Unfortunately the recent decision to not charge Business Improvement District President Norm Bruce with violating the state’s Open Records Law is just another example.

Apparently he is not man enough for the likes of Jim Wigderson, maybe he is a good candidate to replace JB!