Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, June 27, 1995 TAG: 9506270060
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JAN VERTEFEUILLE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Douglas D. Wilson is scheduled to be arraigned this morning in federal court in Abingdon. A two-count indictment returned by a grand jury June 8 was unsealed Monday.
Wilson, 48, said his actions on behalf of client Arthur Odell Rogers, the operator of at least eight coal mines and related companies in Southwest Virginia, were legal. He plans to plead not guilty.
``I never did anything improper, nor did I interfere with the government's collection process,'' Wilson said Monday.
The indictment charges Wilson with ``corruptly obstructing'' administration of the Internal Revenue Code between 1985 and 1991 and with aiding and abetting evasion of federal taxes from 1985 until the present.
Rogers owed more than $600,000 in back taxes and penalties, according to the government. He ran a variety of coal mining operations, all of which apparently are defunct. They include Victory Mining Corp.; Symcor Ltd.; Jasco Excavating Co.; and M&T Equipment Co.
The government charges that Wilson helped conceal some of Rogers' assets to keep the IRS from collecting the back taxes.
Among other things, the government claims that Wilson submitted forms to the IRS that omitted assets Rogers controlled and that he knew money from one company account was transferred to an employee's account to prevent the IRS from seizing it.
Rogers pleaded guilty in October to conspiracy to defraud the IRS and will be sentenced July 11 in West Virginia. The investigation into tax fraud at Rogers' mining operations began in West Virginia and later involved the U.S. Attorney's Office in Virginia when Wilson became a target. A criminal investigator from the IRS also assisted.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Rick Mountcastle wouldn't say whether Rogers and former employees would be witnesses against Wilson, nor would he comment on what evidence the government had.
``It's my understanding the IRS cut deals right and left to secure favorable testimony'' from witnesses, Wilson said. ``The circumstances surrounding this prosecution disturb me as an individual and as an attorney.''
The attorney argues that the steps he took for his client were proper and that his advice to Rogers was to pay the taxes owed. The government says Wilson crossed the line.
``In general terms, it depends on an attorney's knowledge and their intent, and if they do things with the knowledge that they're trying to conceal matters that should be disclosed to the Internal Revenue Service,'' Mountcastle said.
He said the investigation has been going on ``on and off over a period of two to three years.''
Wilson said he knew about the investigation, but that the indictment came as a surprise to him.
``Neither I nor my lawyers nor the tax consultants [they consulted] can understand any reason for this prosecution,'' Wilson said.
Wilson is a partner in the Roanoke law firm Parvin, Wilson, Barnett & Guynn.
by CNB