New Hampshire, it's the water...

[Demosthenes]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
United States Attorney
Thursday, September 6, 2007
William E. Morse
Assistant U.S. Attorney

FORMER STATE HOUSE LEADER PLEADS GUILTY TO TAX CHARGES

CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE – U.S. Attorney Tom Colantuono announced that this morning, Vincent J. Palumbo, a former Majority Leader in the New Hampshire House of Representatives, pleaded guilty to willfully failing to file federal income tax returns. The charges to which Palumbo pleaded guilty today relate to tax years 2000 through 2004. Palumbo previously served a federal prison sentence based, in part, upon his conviction for failure to file income tax returns for several years in the 1980s. Palumbo, 50 years old, is a resident of Kingston, New Hampshire, and served as a Member and as the Majority Leader in the N.H. House in the mid to late 1980s.

According to court documents and admissions that Palumbo made during this morning’s plea hearing, Palumbo failed to file individual federal income tax returns for tax years 1998 through 2004 – during which period he earned more than $2.5 million in income as a mortgage loan originator. Palumbo generally did not have sufficient federal income tax withholdings from his paychecks to cover the federal income tax liabilities on that income and his failures to file his income tax returns therefore resulted in a tax loss that the government estimates to be in excess of $500,000. Since becoming aware of the criminal investigation that led to this morning’s plea, Palumbo has made significant payments toward his outstanding federal income tax liabilities forthe prosecution years.

Palumbo’s sentencing has been scheduled for December 10, 2007. He faces a maximum sentence of one year in prison on each count for a total maximum prison sentence of five years. He also remains responsible for paying his outstanding federal income taxes and any civil fines and interest thereon.

United States Attorney Colantuono stated, “We all have a fundamental obligation to file complete and truthful tax returns and to pay the taxes that we owe. My office will continue to vigorously prosecute individuals and entities that willfully fail to fulfill that obligation.”

This case was investigated by the Criminal Investigation Division of the Internal Revenue Service and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Bill Morse.

[Judge Roy Bean]

It's not just New Hampshire. The "movement" if you will, has gained traction in most states, and the ones who aren't making a public spectacle of themselves are evidently content to laugh along with us at the ones who do and learn from their foibles.

I think it was Will Rogers who said something along the lines of: The one thing that created more liars than the game of golf was the income tax.

[webhick]

I heard something about him some months back....trying to remember what that was.