Guess Who Has Unclaimed Property

Having grown up reading the backs of cereal boxes and anything else I could pore over, I am easily taken in by those long, long lists in the newspaper - people who owe back taxes on the one hand and those who have "unclaimed property" on the other. When you know a town well, it's interesting to see who thinks they can put off paying taxes until the city steps in to sell the debt to a third party. The Unclaimed Property lists are intriguing because it makes you wonder how much money is involved and why the person forgot to claim it. Back wages, bank accounts and many other things are included in Unclaimed Property and the state does its utmost to reunite the property with its owner.


I once helped a Plainfield woman get about $200 back by providing her with the ad and the accompanying form to fill out. In another instance, a familiar name from Somerville prompted me to send the information to the person, now living out of state but easy to locate online. I always look for family names on those lists on the off-chance that a relative is owed something.


Anyway, during one of my recent file-tossing sessions, I came across an old list. At the time, I thought one listing was extremely interesting and possibly newsworthy, but nothing came of it.

I unearthed the old list just as the person's name was appearing in headlines all over this week. Online, I had verified the Skillman address as one belonging to the individual. He has another address in Washington, D.C. nowadays. It's a bit ironic to think he has apparently overlooked a sum of any amount, but just in case he reads the blog, here's the information on how to claim it.

And here's his name.


--Bernice