Agents Bribed


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IRS, Dealing With

Agents Bribed

By: A.J. Cook

How much would you pay to get the Internal Revenue Service off your back -- $5,000?... $25,000?

Accountant Charles Toll offered $105,000 -- a high price for favorable tax treatment and a clean bill of health, but Toll was in charge of two large trusts being examined. He approached senior agent William Kale from the Philadelphia office.

Kale should have immediately reported to the IRS's inspection office. Instead, he happily accepted the offer.

Because Kale needed the cooperation of Irving Suval, his supervisor, Kale agreed to cut him in. Suval had worked for the IRS for more than 30 years, and Kale knew he had taken bribes before. Suval agreed to expedite the processing.

Toll was so pleased that he asked Kale to review two more years of returns. Kale agreed, but said there was a slight problem, he was retiring. So Suval agreed to take over when Kale left.

Before Kale retired, IRS inspectors discovered the shenanigans and confronted Suval. Attempting to help himself, he snitched on Kale. He even wore a body microphone to get evidence against his subordinate.

Kale and Suval both received sentences for their crime and were assessed taxes and penalties on the bribe income.

The Moral: There is no honor or secrecy among thieves.

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Is bribery a major problem at the IRS? It certainly was at the Philadelphia office. There, the agency had more than its share of rotten apples. The IRS charged agent Meyer Weiss with bribery. It said that in five years he took more than $210,000. Weiss paid for it with his freedom. He was sentenced to four years in prison, 15 years suspended and five years' probation and fined $100,000. He also had to pay taxes and penalties on the bribes.

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At about the same time, Edward F. Berry, also from the Philadelphia office, was caught on tape with his hand in the cookie jar. The court assessed a five-year jail term, a $10,000 fine and taxes and penalties on $25,000 of bribe income.

Berry was outraged. He said that no matter what the tape showed, he didn't receive the money.

The judge said it is "highly suspect, questionable, improbable and unlikely" that Berry fudged the figures just for fun.

A.J. Cook is a lawyer and CPA. His tax column appears weekly in numerous newspapers. Why isn't it published in your hometown newspaper? Ask its Business Editor to subscribe.

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