[Stephen F. Lynch]'s accountant, Edward Donahue, said last night that Lynch was audited by the IRS in the mid-1980s, and the review turned up thousands of dollars he owed to the state and federal government for income earned during the 1980s. However, Donahue said he only began preparing Lynch's taxes in 1986, and could not provide many details of his finances prior to that year.

Donahue said he believes the state and federal tax authorities had failed to notify Lynch of his debt, possibly because of computer glitches. Donahue said Lynch received federal and state income tax refunds for many years after 1985.

On two occasions in the 1980s, Lynch also failed to pay his property taxes on time, resulting in the City of Boston placing liens on two rental properties he owned. In 1986, the city put a lien on an East 6th Street property of Lynch's for $1,522.99 in unpaid property taxes. Lynch cleared that debt in 1988. In 1985, the city imposed a lien on a West 6th Street property he owned for unpaid taxes of $210.99. Lynch paid that debt in December of the same year.