Stephen Lemons of the Phoenix New Times dishes on former Cold Stone Creamery CEO Doug Ducey, a Republican running for state treasurer who failed to pay taxes on his own home. Given that he's running for the job of keeping track of the state's books, saying that he couldn't keep track of paying taxes on a $1.4 million Paradise Valley home seems like a dismal excuse. And there are a lot of angry former Cold Stone franchisees out there.

Blogs about Ducey and Cold Stone, acquired in a 2007 merger by the Scottsdale-based Kahala Corporation, abound.

One of them, titled "Doug Ducey Is Sleazy," blasts Ducey as a "sleaze bag and con artist." A GOP blog called "Grow Our Party" alleges that Ducey "left a trail of devastation and bankruptcies for those who invested in his business escapades."

Scratch the surface and you find there's more to

these allegations than just the usual blogosphere rants.

And here's the original Arizona Republic story on Ducey's property taxes:

Doug Ducey, former CEO of Cold Stone Creamery, had a $15,000 lien placed on his property after the non-payment of property taxes in 2008 and 2009.

He paid the taxes in May, shortly after entering the race to become Arizona's chief financial officer.

"There was some confusion in the billing," he said. "As soon as we were aware money was owed, we paid it."