I-Team

BOSTON (WBZ) ― It's tax time for millions of hardworking Massachusetts citizens but one man has gotten away with failing to pay millions in taxes the state says he owes dating back to 1989.

I-team reporter Joe Bergantino caught up with Robert Lockwood, who some say is a serial con man.

"You have an interest in several businesses," Bergantino said to Lockwood. "You owe the state of Massachusetts millions of dollars in taxes."

"I don't owe it," Lockwood said. "You say I do."

"The state says you do," Bergantino said.

Lockwood lives the life of a multi-millionaire.

His home is a $4 million waterfront mansion in Beverly Farms.

His history includes a criminal conviction for failing to pay back taxes that now total $2.3 million, which is one of the largest amounts owed by anyone in Massachusetts.

Lockwood has failed to pay up. He has failed to file his state tax returns for several years in the 1990s and has failed to file a state tax return since 2004.

How does he get away with it?

"The answer is that is it's a slow, frustrating process," said State Revenue Commissioner Navjeet Bal.

It's even more frustrating for the two men who say Lockwood stole their life savings while the state has dragged its feet.

"He's a modern day pirate and he's getting away with it," said Suzanne Dolan.

Dolan's father, Lou Vorrilas, owns a North Reading gas station.

After his wife died suddenly a few years back, Vorrilas fell behind on his rent and taxes. His son introduced him to Lockwood, who the Vorillas family considered a friend.

"Lockwood personally told your father, 'I'm going to pay your taxes, going to pay your bills?" Bergantino asked Dolan.

"He's going to take care of everything," she said.

Vorrilas claims Lockwood sent one of his employees down on a regular basis to collect the station's earnings, but where that money went no one knows.

"Whatever was being picked up by Mr. Lockwood's employees on a day-to-day basis was not being deposited into the gas station accounts," Dolan said.

Vorrilas ended up going bankrupt last year.

"I just can't believe he would do this to my dad or anyone else and not have some sense of guilt about what he's done, and he's hurt my family," Dolan said.

"He put me out of business," said Tim Murphy. "He ruined my life."

Murphy owned this restaurant in Beverly.

When he fell behind on his taxes and mortgage, a friend introduced him to Lockwood.

"He was going to take care of everything, straighten it out with the (Department of Revenue) and bring the mortgage up to date, and we would run the restaurant together," Murphy said.

Murphy signed a document turning the building over to Lockwood in exchange for Lockwood paying off Murphy's debts.

But Lockwood never paid off Murphy's debt.

"None of it," Murphy said. "In fact, we went further in debt."

Murphy was forced into bankruptcy and believes Lockwood eventually took control of the restaurant business for only a fraction of what it was worth.

"He's a bad, bad, evil person and he's done this to a lot of people and he'll continue to do it," Murphy said.

Both Murphy and Dolan blame the state for letting Lockwood get away with what they call fraud along with tax evasion.

"Shame on them. Why aren't they going after him?" Dolan said. "Why does he get to live in a four million dollar house, have four cars and just snub his nose at everyone. He's a manipulator."

"He's beaten this system and any other system that goes after him," Berganitino said to Bal.

"I would just say that he hasn't won yet and we are pursuing him," Bal responded. "We aren't giving up and we are confident."

Lockwood denies any wrongdoing but some of those Bergantino talked with described Lockwood as a one man crime wave.

They say he's left a trail of victims behind and every taxpayer in Massachusetts holding the bag while he continues living the good life.

Who says crime doesn't pay in Massachusetts?

Lockwood and the Varrilas Family were in court earlier this week.  Lockwood claimed he wasn't repayed a $65,000 loan.  A judge threw the case out for lack of evidence and the Vorillas Family withdrew its case, accusing Lockwood of fraud because they lack documentation. 

The state is taking Lockwood back into court this summer when it will be asking a judge to demand that Lockwood pay back the taxes he owes.

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