Traficant v. Commissioner
United States Tax Court
P successfully ran for sheriff of Mahoning County, Ohio, in 1980. During his campaign, P received payments from competing organized crime factions. P properly invoked his Fifth Amendment privilege in refusing to submit to examination under oath on the substance of two tape-recorded conversations that he participated in with members of organized crime and others. Held, P may not introduce testimony or other evidence with respect to the recorded statements.
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P successfully ran for sheriff of Mahoning County, Ohio, in 1980. During his campaign, P received payments from competing organized crime factions. P properly invoked his Fifth Amendment privilege in refusing to submit to examination under oath on the substance of two tape-recorded conversations that he participated in with members of organized crime and others. Held, P may not introduce testimony or other evidence with respect to the recorded statements. S.E.C. v. Cymaticolor Corp., 106 F.R.D. 545 (S.D. N.Y. 1985). Held, further, P's refusal to testify gives rise to a negative inference that…
1Opinion of the Court
WILLIAMS, Judge:
The Commissioner determined a deficiency in Federal income tax for petitioner’s 1980 taxable year in the amount of $95,429.78 and an addition to tax pursuant to section 6653(b),1 in the amount of $47,714.89.2 The issues this Court must decide are (1) whether petitioner failed to report income on his 1980 Federal income tax return, and if so, (2) whether any portion of the resulting underpayment of tax is due to fraud with intent to evade payment of Federal income tax within the meaning of section 6653(b).
Preliminary Evidentiary Matters
Prior to the trial of this case,…
2Cases cited13 opinions
- Baxter v. PalmigianoSupreme Court of the United States · 1976
- James v. United StatesSupreme Court of the United States · 1961
- Rowlee v. CommissionerUnited States Tax Court · 1983
- United States v. RylanderSupreme Court of the United States · 1983
- Chris D. Stoltzfus and Irma H. Stoltzfus v. United StatesCourt of Appeals for the Third Circuit · 1968
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3Cited by24 opinions
- James Traficant, Jr. v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue ServiceCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit · 1989
- Spear v. CommissionerUnited States Tax Court · 1988
- Fitzpatrick v. CommissionerUnited States Tax Court · 1995
- Garavaglia v. Comm'rUnited States Tax Court · 2011
- Hamilton v. Comm'rUnited States Tax Court · 2004
19 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.