NIAGARA FALLS — A State Supreme Court justice has promised a ruling within 24 hours on demands by the partners of One Niagara owner  and manager Frank Parlato that the developer immediately pay close to half a million dollars in overdue property taxes.

Justice Ralph Boniello III is also expected to decide whether or not to appoint a receiver to operate One Niagara for the next 60 days while Parlato and his partners attempt to sort out their tangled finances.

In sometimes animated and heated arguments before Boniello on Wednesday morning, attorneys for Parlato and Incredible Investments Limited had widely different views on the need for both the receiver and even the need to pay the back taxes.

Attorney B. Kevin Burke Jr., the attorney for Incredible Investments told Boniello more than $1.5 million in property taxes are currently owed on the One Niagara building and unless just over $476,000 is paid immediately, the city is ready to foreclose.

“I am here to ask (Parlato) to pay the taxes on 1 Rainbow Plaza,” Burke told Boniello in asking for a court order to force the payment. “If those taxes are not paid now, the building will be place on the (city’s tax foreclosure) list and foreclosure could come as soon as July 1, 2010.”

Burke charged the parking concession and other tourist related businesses at the property generate $20,000 a day, in mostly cash income, during the tourist season. Parlato and One Niagara President Tony Farina called that figure “a gross exaggeration.”

“We have no idea where the money has been going,” Burke said. “It’s appropriate, necessary, no vital, for a receiver to be appointed.”

Parlato has withheld his property tax payments since 2006 in a dispute with the city over the assessment on One Niagara. He has maintained the assessment is too high and is involved in a lawsuit to have it lowered.

Burke suggested that Parlato has no intention of ever paying the property taxes and plans to let he city take the building.

“We’ve argued in our papers that Mr. Parlato either intends to dump the property or leave the area,” Burke told Boniello. “You can fix this now. You can force them to do it. They’re not going to do it. They boasted to the Niagara Gazette they weren’t going to (pay the property taxes).”

As Parlato sat in the courtroom listening to the arguments, his lawyers told Boniello that Incredible Investments is trying to control how One Niagara is managed.

“We run this building.” attorney James Roscetti said. “We understand what we’re doing. We’re on top of it. We’re not going to lose the building.”

Roscetti and co-counsel Paul Grenga argued that their were “multiple options” they could use to keep the city from taking the property in a tax foreclosure proceeding.

“I can tell you with absolute certainty, One Niagara has no intention of losing this building,” Grenga said. “This case is brought solely for the purpose of creating expensive litigation for Mr.  Parlato.”

When Boniello asked Roscetti what would happen if he ordered the immediate payment of the roughly $476,000 needed to stop a possible city foreclosure, the Parlato lawyer said his client couldn’t do that.

“We don’t have the money to pay it,” Roscetti told the judge. “(But) we have a strategy worked out under our management discretion.”

Outside the courtroom, Roscetti declined to discuss what Parlato’s plan is to deal with One Niagara’s tax liabilities.

Burke said the admission that the partnership doesn’t have the cash in the bank to pay the taxes now is proof a receiver needs to be appointed.

“(Boniello) seemed focused on the right issues,” Burke said. “(Parlato) has no explanation why the taxes haven’t been paid and (he) has no money. Why should Frank Parlato not pay his taxes? This has got to stop.”

Farina said city officials have over-valued One Niagara and hampered Parlato’s ability to develop the property. He also suggested the company could find the resources, if it had to, to immediately pay the taxes.

The One Niagara president also pointed out that Parlato offered to put up half of the property taxes that are immediately due if his partners would put up the other half. That offer was rejected by Burke.