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ON THE RUN FOR 14 MONTHS; ON TRIAL FOR 8 DAYS; GUILTY IN 2 HOURS

May 01, 2008

After an eight-day trial, a Minnesota jury took all of two hours to convict Robert Beale of five tax evasion counts, on conspiracy count, and one count for failure to appear trial. The founder and former president of Minnesota computer company Comtrol spent 14 months on the run after failing to show up for his first tax evasion trial.

WCCO.com writes of Mr. Beale's closing argument:

In his closing statements, Beale, who represented himself during the trial, apologized for causing ''such a waste of time and resources because of my beliefs.''
He tried to argue that the U.S. Constitution identifies anyone outside the District of Columbia and U.S. islands as ''non-resident aliens,'' but was stopped by Judge Ann Montgomery. He also accused the government of misconstruing his motives and tried to shift the blame to his bookkeeper for failing to turn in the proper documents to the IRS.

Rank, however, showed that the bookkeeper, after being ordered by Beale to keep financial disclosures from the government, was the person who turned him in.

The Moral: If you are on trial for tax evasion, it may not work to argue "There is no law requiring me to pay tax, and it's the bookkeeper's fault, anyway!"

By my count, the indictment alleges a tax loss of over $1.5 million. The federal sentencing guidelines start at a 41-51 month prison term for a tax loss that size. Not showing up for his first trial and spending 14 months as a fugitive may well incline the judge to a longer sentence for Mr. Beale, who is 65 years old.

Links:

Startribune.com
Examiner.com
MyFoxTwinCities.com

Indictment

Prior Tax Update Coverage:

AND I'D HAVE GOTTEN AWAY WITH IT IF IT WEREN'T FOR THOSE MEDDLING LADIES

I MEANT THAT GOD WANTS ME TO BUY YOU DINNER AND DRINKS, YOUR HONOR

Tags: tax crime.tax protesters.