Dusty vs. the Whistleblower

Hamilton County Auditor Dusty Rhodes used to love dishing the dirt with Jim Schifrin, owner of a local gossip sheet.

Schifrin, who dubbed himself "Charles Foster Kane," used to mention Rhodes often in The Whistleblower. And Rhodes was a frequent source for Schifrin's gossip.

That changed, though, when Schifrin received his latest tax bill from the Hamilton County Auditor's office.

Schifrin bought his Birney Lane home -- 2,695 square feet on more than one acre in Anderson Township -- for $116,000 in 1986. Last year, the Auditor's office valued it at $188,400. But after the state-mandated six-year reappraisal, the value of Schifrin's home rose this year to $265,000.

The result: his property taxes rose from $3,300 last year to $4,100 this year.

The other result: Schifrin got mad at Rhodes, he said, not speaking to him or returning his calls -- and using his gossip rag to attack Rhodes.

The latest, Rhodes said, was Schifrin printing the telephone number to Rhodes' direct line at the Auditor's office in the Whistleblower, which is e-mailed free to readers.

As of 11 a.m. today, Rhodes said his telephone hasn't rung.

It will, Schifrin promised.

"Tell him to 'bite me,' " Schifrin said of Rhodes. "Those (expletives) came out here and lied to me. Lied about me."

The feud goes back to a meeting where Rhodes was to introduce U.S. Rep. Steve Chabot, R-Westwood, but spent "four minutes and 58 seconds" of the five-minute introduction bashing Schifrin for complaining about his increasing property tax bill.

"Dusty spend all of his time (expletive)ing around on the radio and babysitting his grandkids. He's not doing his job," Schifrin said of Rhodes, also a radio disc jockey.

Schifrin contends his house is so special that it can't be compared to others in his area. Valuations largely are based on comparable sales in the area.

"This, sir, is a unique building," Schfrin said. "Don't give me that phoney-baloney, 'comparable' bull(expletive).

"My backyard is in the front and my front yard is in the back."

Schifrin was particularly upset after he requested an auditor employee physically visit his home for the re-evaluation. The employee showed up and looked around, but, Schifrin said, didn't do his job.

"They might as well have driven by at 40 miles per hour," Schifrin said, noting his valuation dind't change after the visit.

"All I got was a 'go-(expletive)-yourself letter' from the auditor," Schifrin said.

Now, Schifrin ranks Rhodes alongside U.S. Rep. Jean Schmidt, R-Miami Township, as a top target in the Whistleblower .

He also suggested his attorney, local political activist Chris Finney, would be busy working on a surprise for Rhodes.

"We're going to sue him. He defamed me in front of a crowd," Schifrin said.