Murphy Sorry for Financial Disclosure Error

The Journal News reported yesterday that State Sen. Terrence Murphy's family owes $117,000 in back taxes on their restaurant and that the senator had hidden his involvement in the business.

Matthew Slater, chief of staff for Senator Terrence Murphy, issued the following statement expressing regret over the article:

Today's 'story' is old news. Almost a month ago, the Murphy family publicly acknowledged in the Daily Voice that their family restaurant exercised the legal option to pay their overdue taxes late with interest and penalties, a situation the restaurant's business manager, Patrick Murphy, has confirmed multiple times.

After the Senate's ethics training session for Senators last week, Senator Murphyproactively approached the Legislative Ethics Commission to review his financial disclosure. The issue with Senator Murphy's disclosure report is that of form over substance.

The property in question was in fact listed, but in the wrong section, which was confirmed to the reporter by the bipartisan Legislative Ethics Commission.

We apologize for the embarrassing situation and have already amended the report to list it properly. Senator Murphy has submitted amendments that not only correct the mistake, but provide more information than is required, which further prove his commitment to an open and transparent government.

According to the Daily Voice, the issue was first publicized in a letter to the editor from resident Nick Witkowich that cited Murphy and Supervisor Michael Grace as delinquents.

The state senator's brother Patrick, one of the owners of Murphy's, said the senator didn't know about the restaurant's issue until the letter. Murphy said in a reply to the Daily Voice Feb. 13 that "My wife and I are current on every cent of our federal, state and local income and property taxes."

The 40th Senate District includes Brewster, Carmel, Patterson and Southeast in Putnam County; Peekskill, Cortlandt, Lewisboro, Mount Pleasant, New Castle, North Salem, Pound Ridge, Somers, Yorktown, Mount Kisco, Briarcliff Manor, Buchanan, Croton-on-Hudson, Pleasantville and Sleepy Hollow in Westchester; and Beekman and Pawling in Dutchess County.