Beaver County controller raises questions about real estate deal involving former solicitor
BEAVER, Pa. (KDKA) — A real estate deal in Beaver County involving the former county solicitor has sparked speculation of an insider deal and calls for an investigation.
Longtime political insider Joe Askar bought the old Beaver County Times building last year for less than $700,000, but Askar is now in line to sell it to the county for four times as much, standing to net a profit of more than $2 million.
"If the numbers don't make sense to me, I'm going to ask questions," Beaver County Controller Maria Longo said.
For the past several months, Longo has raised what she believes are possible red flags over the purchase of the building by Askar, the former county solicitor who is now in the process of selling it to the Beaver County commissioners to house the county's records.
Longo wonders whether Askar benefited from his current position as solicitor to the Beaver County Assessment Office, which under the countywide recent reassessment raised the valuation of the building.
In that position, Longo questions whether Askar had inside information the building was worth much more than the asking price and whether he knew the county was eyeing the building as a record depository. She has no independent information suggesting he did.
"I really can't answer whether he has inside information," Longo said. "I can tell you he works for the county. He is the solicitor for the Assessment Office. And I'm sure he knew what the assessed value was. But is there inside information, were there deals made before they bought the building, I can't answer to any of that."
She's asked the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General to answer those questions, providing the following facts:
- In April of last year, Askar and unnamed partners formed a limited liability corporation called BCT Times LLC, whose sole purchase was to buy the building.
- At the end of June last year, the county released its new reassessment valuations and the building was valued at $3.2 million.
- In August, Askar consummated the purchase of the property for $675,000 from the Beaver County Times' parent company. It is not clear why the sale price was that low.
- Now, the Beaver County commissioners appear set to purchase the building for $2.8 million, which would net Askar a profit of $2.1 million.
"You bought it for $675,000," Longo said. "I didn't see much work done in April. And the number I was being told is that the county was looking at it being sold to them for $2.8 million, which is four times what it was purchased for."
KDKA-TV visited Askar's office across the street from the county courthouse, but he said he was busy and couldn't talk. He declined an on-camera interview but later in a phone call, he dismissed what he called Longo's "absurd allegations," saying he bought the building as an investment property and had no inside information about the reassessment or the county's interest in it.
But Longo says Askar is a close friend of Beaver County Commissioners Chairman Dan Camp, who has spent the past month fending off questions about the potential sale. At meetings, Camp has said that there is nothing wrong with the sale but concedes there is a public perception it is not above board.
Camp did not return phone calls to KDKA-TV for this story.
"We cannot control how much someone paid for a piece of property that is available," Camp said at one meeting.
"It also looks very shady with the parties involved," an attendee said.
"That is understandable," Camp said. "It's called perception. But I can tell you right now nothing is shady."
Camp says the county needs the building, not just for records but to house election equipment and possibly the county SWAT team. He says a majority of the commissioners are pursuing plans to buy it.
"I understand perception," he said at a meeting. "I understand that. I'm going to have to be the one to answer to that or the board or whomever that may be. But at the end of the day, I am telling you wholeheartedly there is not another building in Beaver County that can handle what we need to do."
