Forget “late filing syndrome” – that’s so 2008. For 2009, try the new and improved “I had too many other things going on” defense… it seems to be working out well for Marion Barry.
Barry is currently facing tax evasion charges for failing to file his federal tax returns for the 2007 tax year (he finally filed them on this past Tuesday). A one time offense would generally not be a big deal except for the fact that Barry was already on probation stemming from misdemeanor charges for failing to file federal tax returns from 1999 to 2004. At the hearing for that tax trial, Barry tested positive for cocaine and marijuana; drug counseling was also part of his sentence.
So many charges might beat down any other man, but Barry takes it all in stride. He has, after all, seemed to rise like a crazy phoenix out of a dead political career in DC, where being a drug addict or tax evader is apparently not a barrier to serving in public office. Barry was mayor of DC from 1979 to 1991, until he was arrested on charges relating to possession of crack cocaine, for which he served prison time. Upon his release from prison, he was elected to City Council in DC, where he served through 1994, at which time he returned to the office of mayor. A little prison time on the ol’ resume doesn’t keep DC voters from pulling that lever… Barry now serves on City Council – again – in DC.
Despite his approximately $100,000 salary for sitting on Council, Barry has apparently been unable to find someone to do his taxes. He claims he has been distracted by dialysis… Apparently, ver-r-r-r-y distracted. It is alleged that Barry has failed to file taxes properly in eight of the last nine years – his dialysis has only last about four months.
Prosecutors have asked a federal judge to send Barry to prison for violating the terms of his probation. In their statement, they claimed:
It is not acceptable for any citizen to shirk a basic civil duty, let alone a former mayor and a current city councilman who has been responsible in the past and continues to be responsible for spending public funds collected from District of Columbia taxpayers.
A past push to put Barry in jail for violating the terms of his probation failed, with the judge claiming that the prosecution didn’t prove that the omission was willful. The current motion has not even been scheduled for a hearing.
If it is in the cards, prison will have to wait, since Barry is scheduled for a kidney transplant later today. While the waiting list for kidney transplants can last for five years, Barry caught another one of his infamous breaks by finding his own donor.
Will he catch another break and avoid more jail time? My guess is that he survives surgery, escapes jail time and gets elected for another term. What’s your guess?
He move to Illinois and run for governor or even senator. And we may be looking for another senator soon.
Should tax evasion be criminal? The prosecutors in the Barry case said it was unaceptable to shirk the civic duty of paying taxes. If the prosecution (which I assume is the Justice Department) says it is a civic duty then the government must consider it a civic duty. If it is a civic duty, how can it be criminal? I can think of a lot of things that might be considered a civic duty but you don’t go to jail for not doing them. Not that I don’t think Marion Barry ought to go to jail, mind you. Maybe if he goes he can run for the House or the Senate when he gets out and join the rest of the folks who make “honest mistakes” or have other much more important things to do than to pay their taxes such as our esteemed Secretary of the Treasury.