IRS investigates former D.C. mayor, reports say
The reports say that Marion Barry, former mayor of Washington, D.C., is being investigated by the Internal Revenue Service as to whether he filed any federal tax returns in the last seven years.By DERRILL HOLLY
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON, Oct. 5 -- Former Mayor Marion Barry, who once served prison time on a drug charge, may have a new legal problem. There are reports the government is investigating whether he has filed any federal income tax returns since 1998.
Washington Mayor Anthony Williams believes Marion Barry, the former mayor, will return to the council as an effective member. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)Barry is not talking.
Citing unnamed sources, several news outlets reported that Barry, 69, has been the target of an Internal Revenue Service investigation. Barry, a four-term mayor, was elected last November as the councilman representing the city's working class Ward 8.
"He will talk when his lawyer says it's OK," said Linda Greene, Barry's chief of staff.
Barry is represented by Frederick D. Cooke Jr., who has handled other sensitive matters for him in the past, including drug possession allegations in 2002 that did not result in any charges.
Cooke declined comment Wednesday.
Barry served a six-month prison sentence in 1991, stemming from a 1990 FBI sting operation in which he was videotaped in a downtown hotel room smoking crack cocaine.
Filing false income tax returns is a felony; failure to file can result in a misdemeanor charge.
According to the reports, Cooke has been negotiating a possible deal with federal prosecutors in the District of Columbia that could lead to a plea agreement without jail time. Barry would be required to file returns for the seven-year period and comply with tax laws.
A spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office declined to discuss Barry because he has not been charged.
Mayor Anthony A. Williams expressed confidence that Barry will be able to resolve the matter and continue to serve as an effective member of the city council.
"He can continue to be someone whom I look to for advice on important issues," Williams said Wednesday.
During the six years Barry was out of public office, he worked sporadically as a municipal bond consultant for a New York-based brokerage firm.
Barry earns $92,605 a year in council post.
Story Produced by: Lindsey N. Kirkland
