Councilor May Owe Back Taxes

City Councilor Thomas Danehy yesterday disputed a report in The Boston Phoenix that said the councilor and his brother still owe back real estate taxes of more than $17,000 to Cambridge.

The Phoenix reported in its October 18 issue that Danehy and his brother John, a Middlesex county commissioner, did not pay property taxes for 1974 and 1975 on a building they own jointly at 2394-2400 Mass Ave.

Thomas Danehy said yesterday the published report surprised him. "It may have been my brother's fault. It has been cleared up," he said.

Tax officials at City Hall, however, said yesterday the Danehys have still not paid the delinquent taxes.

"There could be a mistake in our records," Frank A. Pedro, a Cambridge deputy tax collector, said yesterday. "But we have to assume the books are correct. The burden of proof is on the Danehys,"

The Phoenix report "contains some misinformation, but it is mostly correct," Pedro added.

John L. Danehy could not be reached for comment yesterday. THOMAS DANEHY