Until today, Gabriel Gomez's house in Cohasset may have been his castle. But now, it could turn into his political prison.
It's not clear whether Gomez broke the law, but it's crystal clear Gomez got a giant tax break that doesn't pass the smell test.
This is Gomez's home in Cohasset, which he bought in 2004 for $2.1 million dollars.
In 2005, he got a $281,500 federal income tax deduction for agreeing not to make any changes on the exterior of his house, which is in an historic district.
The problem: Cohasset also prohibits changes on historic homes.
So Gomez could not have made any changes anyway:
"I've been inside the rules for eveything I've done my whole life,” Gomez said.
“But the Internal Revenue Service does call this a tax scam,” Hiller said.
“I don't have any comment on that. You have to talk to the Internal Revenue Service on that."
The Gomez Campaign later charged Gomez's opponent, Ed Markey had voted for the tax credit Gomez received…AND the Markey Campaign didn't deny it, issuing a statement, saying in part:
“Ed Markey voted to preserve historic landmarks in Boston and across the nation – not to award the super-wealthy for abusing the law…"
I asked the chairman of the State Democratic Party about the Markey vote:
Hiller: “Are you aware that Congressman Markey supported this?”
John Walsh: “I'm not aware but I believe you, have done that research, it's probably the kind of thing- support for historic preservation – probably not a controversial vote- maybe it used to be in Washington.
I asked Gomez:
Hiller: “You're not making any apology for this?”
Gomez: “I don't apologize for any success I've had. I'm proud of everything I've done, I'm proud that I've earned everything I've done."
Memo to Gabriel Gomez: this is not something to be proud of, if you're running for political office.
Why?
Because it makes you look like a rich person taking advantage of tax laws very few people know about.
Because it can make voters wonder about your values and ethics.
Because it sounds like a scam, even if it's not.