Crime & Safety

Update: Tax Protestor in Standoff Posts Bail

Basil Stephanatos pulled shotgun on Sheriff's officer.

Basilis Stephanatos, the man charged with pointing a shotgun at a Passaic County Sheriff's officer who tried to evict him from his home Tuesday morning, is free after posting bail early Wednesday morning.

Bail was set at $100,000. A message left for Stephanatos at his home was not immediately returned Wednesday afternoon.

Stephanatos, 53, was taken into custody after a three-long standoff with police that began at 9 a.m. when a sheriff's officer went to his home at 687 Indian Road to serve an eviction notice, Wayne Police Chief John Reardon said.

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With no children in the school district, Stephanatos argued he simply shouldn't have to pay the school portion of his tax bill, according to lawsuits he filed against Wayne Township. The suit was dismissed by a state appeals court. 

Stephanatos became upset and leveled a shotgun at the officer, Bill Maer, a spokesman for the Passaic County Sheriff's Office, said.

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Authorities brought in a negotiating team, which, after three and a half hours, convinced Stephanatos to surrender, he said. 

Stephanatos was charged with aggravated assault, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and hindering apprehension, Maer said. Several loaded weapons were found at the scene, authorities said. Bail was set at $100,000 with no 10 percent option.

Police and fire crews lined Indian Road and several residents were evacuated from nearby homes. 

The Passaic County Sheriff's Office's SWAT team was also called to the scene. 

Authorities said Stephanatos was being evicted because of his failure to pay taxes. Reardon said the man has been involved in a longstanding dispute about paying the portion of his tax bill that funds the school district.

A lawsuit Stephanatos filed against Wayne Township was tossed out in 2008 by a state appeals court, which said his arguments were without merit, according to a report published at the time on NJ.com

Stephanatos had argued in the suit that he shouldn't have to pay his school tax bill of over $6,000 because he had no children in the Wayne school system, according to the story. 

Representing himself in court, he raised 19 arguments, including "that his constitutional rights are violated by financing public education through his property taxes," according to published reports. 

Indian Road, near the intersection with Terhune Drive, was blocked off for several hours, with traffic diverted to Pines Lake Road West.

More than 20 police vehicles were parked along local streets. Officers from the Wayne police department, the Passaic County Sheriff's Department, the New Jersey state police and the prosecutor's office responded.


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