Former Democratic Party Elections Official Indicted for Tax Evasion and Obstructing Internal Revenue Laws

An indictment was unsealed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York charging Gerard Terry with tax evasion and obstructing the administration of internal revenue laws. Terry was arrested this morning and his arraignment is scheduled for Tuesday before U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert at the U.S. Courthouse, 100 Federal Plaza, Central Islip, New York.

The charges were announced by U.S. Attorney Robert L. Capers of the Eastern District of New York, Acting Special Agent in Charge Kathy A. Enstrom, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), and William F. Sweeney, Jr., Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

As detailed in the indictment and in other publicly filed court documents, Terry, an attorney licensed to practice in New York state, attempted to evade substantial income tax due and owed by him, despite earning income from numerous government and quasi-government positions in Nassau County, including the Democratic Party in the town of North Hempstead, the Nassau County Board of Elections, the Town of North Hempstead, the Long Beach Housing Authority, the North Hempstead Housing Authority, the Freeport Community Development Agency, the Roosevelt Public Library, the Village of Port Washington, and the Village of Manorhaven. Since January 2000, Terry has failed to pay a federal tax debt of over $1.4 million, despite earning over $250,000 per year.

During the period charged in the indictment, Terry routinely failed to file personal Form 1040 tax returns, filing years later and only after vigorous pursuit by the IRS. Even then, Terry filed Forms 1040 that contained false information and failed to report income. Moreover, Terry has still failed to file returns for tax years 2009 and 2010. Terry also evaded the IRS’s attempts at levy collection by cashing hundreds of wage and compensation checks worth over $500,000, rather than depositing them into checking or savings accounts where they could be seized. When depositing those checks into his bank account, Terry did so in the minimum amounts necessary to cover checks and payments for his own personal expenses and luxury items, thereby making sure there were insufficient funds upon which the IRS could levy.

In his communications with the IRS, Terry routinely provided false, misleading, and incomplete information to obstruct internal revenue laws. For example, Terry created and utilized a checking account in the name of a corporate nominee so as to conceal income and avoid levy collection. Additionally, Terry had one of his employers make direct payments to his credit card rather than issuing him a paycheck, allegedly to avoid levy collection by the IRS.

“As alleged in the indictment, the defendant knowingly and willfully refused to pay his federal income taxes. That he did so while earning hundreds of thousands of dollars from government and civic positions only makes his conduct more offensive,” stated U.S. Attorney Capers. “Today’s indictment demonstrates our resolve to aggressively investigate and prosecute those who fail to meet their income tax obligations under the law.”

“Taxes are inevitable, we all have to pay them. Mr. Terry allegedly tried to avoid paying them, especially egregious given his position and roles in government organizations which rely on taxes from citizens who work hard and obey laws,” said FBI Assistant Director in Charge Sweeney.

“As alleged in today’s indictment, not only did Mr. Terry fail to pay taxes and file tax returns for over a decade, after being steadfastly pursued by the IRS he continued with his flagrant disregard for our nation’s tax system by filing fraudulent tax returns,” said IRS-CI Special Agent in Charge Enstrom. “Fulfilling individual tax obligations is a legal requirement and those who willfully evade this obligation will be held accountable.”

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Son of Scarface: A Memoir by the Grandson of Al Capone

Thirteen is a difficult age for anyone. But imagine if your beloved dad drops dead in your arms, leaving you at the mercy of your abusive mother. Then, a few months later, you learn from a phone conversation with your father's best friend that Dad was the son of Al Capone.

Not exactly a "Happy Days" childhood for Chris W. Knight. News that he was a generation removed from the most notorious crime boss in the annals of American history hit him like a St. Valentine's Day special delivery from his grandpa. But he was able to overcome all the trauma and unhappiness to earn an MBA and find success in real estate.

For two decades, the lifelong New Jersey resident wondered whether the tale of his lineage was true -- essentially that Capone had fathered Bill Knight with a woman other than his wife, then somehow hid his identity and had others bring him up. Then Chris Knight decided to find out. Son of Scarface: A Memoir by the Grandson of Al Capone recounts his efforts to trace his roots to the criminal mastermind who in the Roaring Twenties was the uncrowned king of Cicero, then Chicago.

Q. How sure are you at this point that it's true that you are Scarface Al's grandson?

A. One hundred percent, without a doubt. This kind of thing you just don't make up. For me, my dad died in my arms and told me before he died that he had another identity as a child, that he couldn't talk about it but if he did it would make my head spin. He told me about the house in Florida where he spent some of his childhood.

Q. Would you be disappointed if you were somehow presented with proof positive that you were not related?

A. I would have to seriously take into consideration how they came to that conclusion, and I would only believe it if they took the DNA straight from his body right out of the ground and spliced the DNA right in front of me. Anybody can swipe anything when it comes to DNA.

Q. Are there any developments since the book was published concerning the Capone lineage?

A. The book's been out a month and a half. I just finished doing the launch in Florida [at Al's vacation home]. The word is out. I've had two conversations with a grandson of my father's brother, Albert Francis, a k a Sonny. His family's been supportive. He said he saw a lot in my story and in me, that there is a strong connection. He's deciding whether to submit to a DNA test. He told me that as long as I didn't reveal his real identity or where he lived, he wouldn't shoot me [laughs].

Q. Do you see any irony in the fact that your father was the son of such a notorious man, yet your mother was the parent who was emotionally and physically abusive toward you and your sister?

A. That's something that I was thinking, that my mom is probably on the same level as Al Capone. Sometimes I wonder if she has syphilis [the disease that killed Al and may have been passed on to both Sonny and Bill] because she's very irrational. I can see why it's said that people marry someone who reminds them of their parents. it is ironic to see my mother's behavior is a mirror image of Al's.

Q. Is it difficult to admit the Capone heritage?

A. He's definitely a legend in American history. The bad side of Capone was that he was one of America's most notorious mob bosses. But I think my grandfather was also a kind and generous person to a lot of families. He ran soup kitchens during the Depression. People say that if you knew him, he would try to help you.

Q. Has your relationship with your mother been affected by your quest?

A. This past Christmas I forced myself to go and visit my mom, and even though she has her moments of irrationalness, she can be serious. She hasn't read the book, but she thought it would be good if I could put a positive twist on it and develop the theme of telling people to use courage and use the pain of my childhood to move forward to continue the search to reconnect with my father.

Q. You mention a "gay chromosome" and speculate that Al himself may have been gay, as you are. How has that theory been received?

A. In speaking with a few historians and reading up on Al and looking at myself, I realized that I am very similar to Al, not only in looks but in attitude and friendliness and the generous side of me. A few historians have said there were rumors that he was bisexual or gay. I heard he had a very soft voice like me. He always surrounded himself with 20 very handsome bodyguards. He never lived with his wife, so the thought had crossed my mind that there could have been a gay gene there.

Thanks to Jeff Johnson

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Mobile Gamers Can Join the Mafia with "The Godfather: Family Dynasty" App

In a world where respect must be earned, power means everything, and family rules above all else, The Godfather: Family Dynasty allows mobile gamers to enter the seedy life of a mobster. And this is one hit mobster fans won't be disappointed about.

Get ready to whack the enemy, build your estate and establish yourself as the ultimate crime Family. Mobile games publisher Hitcents, in partnership with Feelingtouch Games and with licensing from Paramount released The Godfather: Family Dynasty mobile game.

At its core The Godfather: Family Dynasty is all about money, power and respect—and don't be surprised that this means the player has to sometimes get their hands dirty and take out the rivals.
Set in the criminal underworld of 1945, player starts off as a foot solider for Don Vito Corleone while making a name for themselves as they build an empire to help The Godfather run the most powerful family in New York City.

When it comes to the gameplay, The Godfather: Family Dynasty is a real-time RPG strategy title. The player is instructed to built and expand the Corleone empire including constructing the Mansion and other buildings, training thugs to use when a hit needs to be made, and making business deals to keep collecting money.

Keep developing the Mansion and "leave the gun, take the cannoli" or complete tasks in order to unlock more doors in the world and earn rewards. The player must make upgrades to buildings and weapons to improve skills and weapons, while defending their territories by mobilizing their crews of Capos and Soliders. The player needs to make profitable investments and provide help to allies in order to succeed and earn respect.

The game starts with an in-depth tutorial to get the player used how to the play the game. And since the game switches from the Corleone empire map to the city map with many things going on in each, it helps that prompts continue to pop up even as the player advances to remind them of tasks and how to complete them.

It's a plus that there are no building times during some of the building, making it easy to advance in the game a bit before taking a break and returning later.

Besides building, the another major part of the gameplay is its battle rounds where the player must take out enemy foot soldiers and their Boss. While the player doesn't have to do anything physically in these battles, it takes strategic planning to come out the winner based on the power and skill of the men from the player's army they use.

There is also a Story Book mode that includes new challenges and provides a way to advance. These include Godfather-themed chapters like "Connie's Wedding" and "Sicilian Oranges." Complete these Story Book challenges in order to "enhance" Capos characters to equip them with various items that make them more powerful.

There is enough going on in this game to keep a player entertained without being too overwhelming with its features. Once the player gets the hang of it, navigating through the game because a piece of cake.

Perfect for those who like a title where they need to rise to the top, and those who enjoy mob movies, The Godfather mobile game delivers on living up to its name.

The chance to play The Godfather: Family Dynasty for free is an offer a mobile gamer can't refuse. Be a wise guy and download the game that is now available for iOS, Android, and Amazon devices today.

Thanks to Lauren Keating.

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The Fourth Turning: An American Prophecy - What the Cycles of History Tell Us About America's Next Rendezvous with Destiny

First came the postwar High, then the Awakening of the '60s and '70s, and now the Unraveling. This audacious and provocative book tells us what to expect just beyond the start of the next century. Are you ready for the Fourth Turning?

Strauss and Howe will change the way you see the world--and your place in it. In The Fourth Turning, they apply their generational theories to the cycles of history and locate America in the middle of an unraveling period, on the brink of a crisis. How you prepare for this crisis--the Fourth Turning--is intimately connected to the mood and attitude of your particular generation. Are you one of the can-do "GI generation," who triumphed in the last crisis? Do you belong to the mediating "Silent Majority," who enjoyed the 1950s High? Do you fall into the "awakened" Boomer category of the 1970s and 1980s, or are you a Gen-Xer struggling to adapt to our splintering world? Whatever your stage of life, The Fourth Turning offers bold predictions about how all of us can prepare, individually and collectively, for America's next rendezvous with destiny.

The Fourth Turning: An American Prophecy - What the Cycles of History Tell Us About America's Next Rendezvous with Destiny.

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Walter Reed and Steven Reed @FBI Public Corruption Task Force Receives Award from the @MetroCrimeNOLA

During the 2017 Metropolitan Crime Commission’s (MCC) annual awards luncheon, MCC President Rafael Goyeneche and the MCC Board recognized the Walter Reed and Steven Reed investigative and prosecution team for their outstanding work in rooting out public corruption. The award was based on an FBI, IRS, and U.S. Attorney’s Office-Eastern District of Louisiana investigation and prosecution collaborative effort.

In March 2013, the FBI and IRS initiated a joint investigation of Walter P. Reed, then the District Attorney for the 22nd Judicial District of Louisiana and Steven Reed, Walter Reed’s son, following allegations of corruption by the Reeds. Allegations included Reed used his campaign funds for personal use, demanded kickbacks from contractors who provided services to his campaign, and diverted funds intended for the Office of the District Attorney to his own personal use. The investigation obtained evidence, which was subsequently presented at trial, that Walter P. Reed and Steven Reed devised a scheme to defraud the Walter Reed Campaign and contributors to the Walter Reed Campaign by using donations to Walter P. Reed’s campaign to pay for goods and services unrelated to the campaign or to the holding of public office, and in amounts that grossly exceeded the value of the services provided.

Evidence revealed Walter P. Reed caused a series of payments to be made from the Campaign Fund to Steven Reed’s companies in order to pay down a loan on which Walter P. Reed was a cosigner. The payments were for services that were either never provided or whose value was substantially less than the amount paid. For example, Steven Reed’s company, Liquid Bread LLC, received $29,400 from the Campaign Fund account for purportedly providing catering or bar services during a September 2012 campaign event at the Castine Center, which neither Steven Reed, nor the company, actually provided. Walter P. Reed also required a caterer for the September 2012 campaign event to kickback $5,000 of its payment to Steven Reed as a means of funneling campaign monies to Steven. The $29,400 payment and the $5,000 kickback were then used by Steven Reed to pay down the balance of a loan cosigned by Walter P. Reed.

Additionally, evidence demonstrated Walter P. Reed paid for numerous other personal expenses unrelated to his campaign out of his Campaign Fund, including flowers for his close family and a woman he admitted that also contained an anonymous message that stated, “[T]o my rodeo girl from a secret admirer from Camp J,” a $1,885.36 Thanksgiving Day dinner for Reed and approximately ten other members of his family, a $500 gift card for his future personal use, a $2,635.00 dinner at a North shore steakhouse he hosted for “Pentecostal Preachers” in an attempt to solicit client referrals for his private civil legal work, and a $25,000 referral fee he paid one such clergyman who referred him a lucrative civil case. Subsequently, Reed sought, and received, a reimbursement for the same $2,635.00 dinner from the law firm with which he was affiliated. Walter P. Reed did not reimburse his Campaign Fund for the dinner. In total, Walter P. Reed spent over $120,000 from the Walter Reed Campaign Fund bank account on personal expenses to include: recruitment of potential clients for his private legal practice, paying off various expenses incurred by his son, Steven Reed, and paying for private and personal dinners. Reed did not report, or pay taxes on, this ill-gotten money.

Finally, evidence demonstrated Walter P. Reed diverted money paid by St. Tammany Parish Hospital to the Office of the District Attorney to his personal bank account. Specifically, between about 1994 and 2014, St. Tammany Parish Hospital retained the services of the Office of the District Attorney to advise the hospital on various matters and attend monthly meetings, for which it agreed to pay the Office between $25,000 and $30,000 per year. While Walter P. Reed attended some of the monthly meetings, which occurred during business hours, in his capacity as District Attorney, on dozens of occasions he directed Assistant District Attorneys to attend. Notwithstanding Reed’s misuse of Office resources and personnel, as well as his attendance in his official capacity as District Attorney, Walter P. Reed deposited each check provided by St. Tammany Parish Hospital intended for the Office of the District Attorney into his personal bank account. In total, Reed diverted over $550,000 of the Office of the District Attorney’s funds in this manner.

Walter P. Reed and Steven Reed were indicted by the Eastern District of Louisiana (EDLA) in a 19-count indictment on April 23, 2015, for charges of Conspiracy, Mail and Wire Fraud, Money Laundering and filing False Tax Returns. During April and May 2016 evidence was presented at trial which led to the May 2nd conviction of Walter P. Reed for 18 counts and Steven Reed for three counts of the indictment.

United States Attorney Kenneth Polite, Eastern District of Louisiana, stated, “I thank the members of my Office, the MCC, the FBI and, the IRS for their continued commitment to fighting public corruption. Our partnership resulted in bringing justice to DA Walter Reed and his son. We remain steadfast in our collective mission of rooting out fraud, waste, and abuse in Southeast Louisiana.

Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey S. Sallet, FBI New Orleans, stated, “Public Corruption will not be tolerated in Louisiana. The FBI New Orleans Division will utilize every available resource to root out public corruption at all levels. The residents of Louisiana should expect and demand honest government. He further stated, “I congratulate the entire team for the exceptional efforts to promote integrity in government and thank the Metropolitan Crime Commission for their partnership in the fight.”

Special Agent in Charge Jerome R. McDuffie, IRS—Criminal Investigation, stated, “The ‎investigative collaboration that led to the conviction of Walter and Steven Reed is an invaluable law enforcement tool, and one that IRS-CI will continue to pledge it’s resources to support. We are pleased with the outcome of this very significant public corruption case, as these investigations play a major part in our service to the taxpayers of this country. IRS—Criminal Investigation will continue to work diligently with our law enforcement partners to put an end to public corruption."‎

An anticipated sentencing date is tentatively set for March 8, 2017.

The successful investigation and prosecution of Walter P. Reed and Steven Reed is the direct result of the outstanding dedication and hard work of the Agents, Prosecutors and staff of the FBI, IRS, and U.S. Attorney’s Office, which received assistance from Metropolitan Crime Commission, and represents the tremendous positive impact such collaborative efforts can achieve.

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