Auditor Wagner's home up for sheriff's sale
State auditor Tom Wagner, who routinely issues reports that blister Delaware government and nonprofit officials for misspending taxpayer dollars, faces a sheriff's sale on his Dover home for missing what he called "a bunch" of mortgage payments.
Asked about the sheriff's sale, scheduled for Feb. 2, Wagner said his debt to M&T Bank would be resolved by Monday, and the sale would be canceled.
Wagner, a Republican who is Delaware's longest-serving statewide elected official, has been Delaware's fiscal watchdog since 1989 and was elected to his sixth four-year term in November. His salary is about $109,000 annually, state records show.
M&T officials and their attorney, Robert Aulgur, would not comment.
The News Journal learned late Thursday about the pending sale of the home of Wagner and his wife, Amber, from a tipster. The sale will be held by the Kent County Sheriff's Office.
Superior Court documents filed with the action by M&T Bank said the Wagners owe a total of $172,100, including $137,443 in principal, $20,125 in interest dating back two years, and $9,766 in escrow advance.
The Wagners bought the four-bedroom brick home at 141 Hazel Road, near Silver Lake, in 1997 for $209,000 in 1997, and took out a 30-year mortgage for $167,200 at 7.5 percent interest, county property records show.
Wagner would not say how many payments he missed, insisting on calling it a "bunch.'' The court action also doesn't specify how many payments were missed, but said that the $20,125 in interest due dates back to Dec. 2012 – more than two years ago.
The Wagners' mortgage records show that M&T took over the loan in July 2011, after the Buffalo-based bank bought the former Wilmington Trust.
In September 2012 the Wagners had agreed to a loan modification plan with M&T that called for monthly payments of $905.68 at 7.5 percent interest, the agreement said. The balance at that time was $137,627 – about the same amount of principal they currently owe.
Wagner said he got behind because Wilmington Trust used to pay the mortgage electronically, and made the payment even if he didn't have enough money in his account, charging him a service fee in those cases. But when M&T took over his loan, it didn't provide the same service, so it was a few months before he even realized that he had fallen behind on "a handful" of payments, Wagner said.
"It ultimately became a bunch" of missed payments, Wagner said. "It's in the hands of the attorneys and it has become a whole crazy process. We have contacted the bank and we'll work it out."
Wagner has made a career out of identifying improper use of state taxpayer dollars, with his investigations sometimes leading to criminal charges or reforms of spending practices.
Earlier this week, for example, Wagner said he was investigating spending by top administrators at Family Foundations Academy charter school in New Castle after an outside audit found that its top two officials made more than $95,000 in questionable purchases, including for car payments, furniture, flowers, fine watches, expensive meals and concert tickets, among many other items.
Last year Wagner's office issued a report saying that top state officials, including Gov. Jack Markell and then-Treasurer Chip Flowers, regularly ignored rules for authorizing out-of-state taxpayer-funded travel, making it difficult to track the purpose and validity of the spending.
Contact senior investigative reporter Cris Barrish at (302) 324-2785, cbarrish@delawareonline.com, on Facebook or Twitter @crisbarrish.
Contact Jon Offredo at (302) 678-4271, on Twitter @jonoffredo or at joffredo@delawareonline.com.