By MELISSA N. WARREN / Review Appeal Staff Reporter

A judge’s order earlier this week returning a limited number of dogs to breeder Jennifer Siliski would violate the law since the Bowman Road resident does not have a business license and has not paid any taxes on animals already sold.

That’s the basis of a motion jointly filed Wednesday in Circuit Court by the District Attorney’s and County Attorney’s offices.

The motion, which asks Judge Lee Davies to reconsider or clarify his ruling, asserts that if Siliski is permitted to sell the more than 200 animals that were confiscated in a Jan. 22 raid of her home kennel, the woman would be engaging in “unlawful business practices.”

“First, the defendant does not have a license authorizing her to sell pets or breed and board them,” the motion states. “Second, since there is a pending complaint lodged by the county against the defendant regarding unpaid taxes resulting from the defendant’s illegal business, any profits from the sale of these animals should be held in escrow pending the outcome of that proceeding.”

After sifting though the several complaints — both civil and criminal — lodged against Siliski at the judicial center, the Williamson County Review Appeal uncovered the specific complaint to which the DA’s office refers in that second point.

On May 21, a civil suit was filed by the County Attorney’s Office on behalf of Elaine Anderson, county clerk of Williamson County. In that case, the county is asking for payment from Siliski for unpaid taxes and licensing fees — items which should have been paid and obtained before she operated her Maltese breeding business, “Hollybelle Maltese Inc.,” out of her home at 2235 Bowman Road. Those licenses, however, were never purchased, despite claims on Siliski’s Web site as late as Jan. 23, 2004, that “Hollybelle” has allegedly been in business for more than 10 years.

“The county clerk is now aware that these business practices were taking place for which Siliski would owe appropriate taxes and fees which have not been paid,” said County Attorney Bill Squires. “The county clerk cannot ignore that the business was taking place. There are specific statutes that require the county clerk to collect those payments in taxes and fees.”

The county clerk’s court action is not directly related to the criminal trial, Squires said. Assistant District Attorney Braden Boucek and County Attorney Lisa Carson, in their memorandum, say they “regret the necessity of seeking further guidance,” but since these issues were not presented at the hearing, both the prosecution and defense have a fundamental disagreement and “divergent recollections” on how to proceed.

The county does have a right to place a lien on both the animals and property in order to collect back taxes and the cost of taking care of the dogs, according to the filed motion for clarification.

The breeder’s property, though, is no longer hers, county records show.

Siliski’s home, which is listed in the telephone directory under both her name and Melissa Redler, one of her 27 known aliases, was sold on March 4, 2004, to Siliski’s fourth ex-husband, Alan Siliski. It was sold by Melissa H. Redler for $176,000. Four days later, Alan Siliski posted bond when the woman was booked for criminal charges at the Williamson County jail.

“It would be an issue for the courts as to whether or not the transfer of the house was a fraudulent transfer,” District Attorney General Ron Davis said. “When people sell a house to avoid paying back taxes on it, sometimes the transfer can be found to be a fraudulent transfer.”

Staff Reporter Melissa N. Warren can be contacted at melissa@reviewappeal.com.

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