DOJ Tax Alumni on Wikipedia

Today, I had too much time on my hands and did the following search on Wikipedia:  "tax division" justice

The results related to DOJ Tax Alumni that I recognized or could discern easily from the search are

Allegra, Fran http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Allegra
Anderson, Stephen Hale http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Hale_Anderson
Archer, Glenn http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glenn_Leroy_Archer,_Jr.
Arum, Bob http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Arum
Dinan, Dan http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_J._Dinan
Dyk, Timothy B. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_B._Dyk
Garbis, Marvin http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marvin_J._Garbis
Griffin, Brian http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_C._Griffin
Gruender, Raymond http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_Gruender
Gustafson, David http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Gustafson
Hall, Cynthia Holcomb http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynthia_Holcomb_Hall
Hochman, Nathan http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan_Hochman
Jackson, Robert http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_H._Jackson
Jolly, Grady http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._Grady_Jolly
Oberdorfer, Lou http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_F._Oberdorfer
Pajak, John http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Pajak
Penn, John http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Garrett_Penn
Powell, Carleton http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carleton_Powell
Raum, Arnold http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnold_Raum
Rosenstein, Rod http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rod_J._Rosenstein
Smith, Ed http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Samuel_Smith
Swift, Steve http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Swift
Whalen, Larry http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurence_Whalen
Will, Hubert http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubert_Louis_Will
Wilson, Steve http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Victor_Wilson
Wolfe, Norman http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_H._Wolfe

An Excel spreadsheet with this information may be viewed or downloaded here.

I will be glad to update these postings for additional alumni on Wikipedia.  Sorry, I do not plan to provide links to all web references to alumni.  Just Wikipedia.  (Blog Masters' judgment call.)

Smith's Nomination to Head DOJ Tax is Returned to White House

See this article in Main Justice.

Politics as Usual - Stalled Nominations, Including Nominee Smith for AAG Tax.

Main Justice has an article on Leahy's criticism of Republicans for stalling nominations. See here.

Robert E. Cahill, Sr. Death

The Baltimore Sun reports today on the death of Robert E. Cahill, Sr., who worked in the Tax Division as Senior Trial Attorney fromf 1959 to 1961. The obituary is here.

DOJ Honors Tax Division Attorneys

Karen Kelly and Steven D. Grimberg of the Tax Division have been honored at the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys Director’s Awards Ceremony. (See the article in Main Justice.) Their citations are:

Karen E. Kelly (Tax Division) for her extraordinary dedication and skill in investigating and prosecuting the largest personal income tax evasion case brought in the United States. In United States v. Anderson, Walter Anderson masterminded an elaborate scheme involving several foreign corporations to conceal approximately $450 million in earnings from business ventures and to evade payment of more than $200 million in federal income taxes and District of Columbia use taxes. Anderson pleaded guilty to two counts of federal tax evasion and one count of defrauding the District of Columbia and was sentenced to nine years of imprisonment and ordered to pay restitution. Because of Ms. Kelly’s and AUSA Susan Menzer’s exemplary work and unshakeable determination in this difficult and complex case, justice triumphed and a strong message was sent that federal prosecutors will work tirelessly to unravel even the most complicated tax evasion schemes.

Aleyda Borges-Tognozzi, Juliet Falcon, Wilfredo Fernandez, and Alison W. Lehr (Southern District of Florida); Steven D. Grimberg (Tax Division); and Isabel C. Fleitas-Gruba, Joseph Lozowicki, Alfonso J. Herrera, William Rondon, and Donnell Young (Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation Division) for the investigation, prosecution, and conviction of the owner and principals of a check cashing store that laundered more than $132 million and put an end to one of the most prolific money laundering operations in South Florida’s history. From August 2005 to January 2008, law enforcement agents unraveled a scheme where Florida construction companies and subcontractors cashed checks in anonymity, in exchange for a commission based on the face value of the check. The defendants, the owners and principals of La Bamba Check Cashing, recruited customers, mostly local construction companies and subcontractors, who avoided paying Social Security and other taxes by cashing checks at La Bamba through shell companies that the defendants owned or controlled. On behalf of their customers, the defendants filed false Currency Transaction Reports and for this service, La Bamba, its owner, and others earned millions of dollars in fees. The three and a half month trial resulted in convictions the corporate defendant, La Bamba and its owner who was sentenced to 18 years in prison. Forfeiture proceeding resulted in an $11 million settlement.

Bruce Johnson Named as Chair of Utah Tax Commission

See this link.

Attorney Positions at DOJ Tax

DOJ Tax has announced the following available positions:

Civil Tax Attorneys

Criminal Tax Attorneys

Both announcements state cutoff dates in early January.

DOJ Tax Holiday Party 12/18/09

I attach a notice / invitation here. The key information is:

When? Friday, December 18, 2009 from 3:30-6:00 P.M.

Where? Great Hall, Robert F. Kennedy Main Justice Building.
Note: The Attorney General’s Entrance at 10th and Constitution will be open for non-DOJ guests from 3:15 and 4:15 P.M.

RSVP? Guests ($25)
Call Tax Division Office of Training
(202)514-6722

Make checks out to “Tax Division Fund” and send to:
Department of Justice, Tax Division
Office of Training - JCB 6205
555 4th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001
-or-
Department of Justice, Tax Division
Kari Larson - RFK 4612
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20001

Join the fun at the Tax Division’s 2009 Holiday Party!

Senator Durbin Urges Favorable Action on Smith AAG Tax Nomination

Main Justice has article titled "Durbin Calls for Action on Tax Division Nominee" with Durbin's statement in full. The article is here.

Update on Mary Smith nomination for AAG Tax

Main Justice has a report here this morning titled "American Indian Leaders Question Delays On Tax Nominee."

The American indian constituency is circling the wagons (is that the right metaphor?) for Mary Smith, whose nomination as AAG Tax has been pending for some time now. The article is a nice piece setting forth the concerns. The article also quotes Tax Division alums Nathan Hochman (former AAG) and Carr Ferguson (former AAG chief and, long before that, real line attorney at DOJ Tax). (Note that Main Justice apparently picked up the wrong picture of Carr; the picture in the article as of my reading at 8:00 this morning is of Ronald Jensen of Pace University Law School; for a real picture of Carr along with a great article on him, see here.)

For the previous blogs on Mary Smith, see here.

Dana Boente Named First Assistant AUSA in EDVA

Dana Boente, formerly DAAG Tax and Acting USA for EDVA, has been appointed First Assistant AUSA in EDVA. For the Main Justice Article, see here.

Tax Recipients at DOJ AG Awards Ceremony

This item is from a PR Newswire here. I have cut and paste the items relevant to DOJ Tax:

Attorney General Eric Holder recognizes 247 department employees for their distinguished public service today at the 57th Annual Attorney General Awards Ceremony. Thirty-nine other individuals outside of the department are also honored for their work. Held at DAR Constitution Hall, this annual ceremony recognizes both department employees and others for their dedication to carrying out the Department of Justice's mission.

The John Marshall Award for Trial of Litigation is also presented to the team that litigated AWG Leasing Trust v. United States, the first case to go to trial involving the abusive sale in/lease out tax shelter. Recipients include, from the Department of Justice's Tax Division, Civil Trial Section, Southern Region Assistant Chief Angelo A. Frattarelli; from the Northern Region, Trial Attorneys Robert Kovacev, Matthew Von Schuch and Karen Smith.

Another John Marshall Award for Participation in Litigation is awarded to, from the Department of Justice Tax Division, Office of the Assistant Attorney General Kevin M. Downing, Senior Level Trial Attorney; Michael P. Ben'Ary, Trial Attorney, Northern Criminal Enforcement Section; Frank P. Cihlar, Trial Attorney, Criminal Appeals and Tax Enforcement Policy Section; and from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida, Jeffrey A. Neiman, Assistant U.S. Attorney. This team is recognized for their outstanding work in negotiating the deferred prosecution agreement with UBS, the largest bank in Switzerland and one of the largest worldwide.

UPDATE: For the Main Justice web page on this see here.

Shelly L. Goldklang Named Special Counsel at Cadwalader

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, LLP announced here the promotion of some attorneys to Special Counsel. Included is Shelly L. Goldklang a DOJ Tax alum. The following is the portion of the release related to Shelly.

Shelly L. Goldklang is a member of the Business Fraud and Complex Litigation Group who advises clients on a wide variety of white collar criminal and regulatory matters, including issues involving the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, money laundering, and criminal tax. Prior to joining Cadwalader, Ms. Goldklang was a federal prosecutor with the United States Department of Justice`s Tax Division, Criminal Enforcement Section, where she also spent six months detailed to the United States Attorney`s Office for the District of Columbia. Resident in the Washington, D.C. office, Ms. Goldklang received her undergraduate degree, cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania, and her J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Miami School of Law.

Mary Smith AAG Confirmation Documents

The documents related to Mary Smith's confirmation as AAG may be accessed here. Included is the webcast of the hearing considering Gerard Lynch for a spot of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals and Ms. Smith for DOJ Tax AAG. The questions to and answers of the nominees are interspersed, so readers wishing to focus on only one nominee will just have to fast forward to the pertinent sections.

DOJ Tax AAG Designate Smith gets Senate Judiciay Committee Approval

The Legal Times has an article on the approval of Ms. Smith here. The approval was on party lines. The Republicans stated complaint was her lack of relevant experience.

I previously blogged Ms. Smith's nomination here.

The article also reports the committee's approval of U.S. District Judge (SDNY) Gerard Lynch for the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. This nomination was approved on voice vote without dissent.

Thanks to the Tax Prof Blog here from which I picked up this item.

AAG Robert Jackson Speech on Republicans, Intelligence & Practicality

Yesterday, my DOJ Tax Division automatic Google search served up a reference to a remarkable speech in 1936 by then DOJ Tax AAG Robert Jackson (of later Supreme Court fame). The reference was to a publication by Professor John Q. Barrett who is writing a biography about Jackson and sends periodic emails on Jackson topics. (His lists of Jackson postings may be viewed here, where a pdf of this speech can be downloaded.)

The item that my Google search captured caught my attention because it was a speech made while Jackson was AAG. I asked Professor Barrett for permission to put it on this blog and he graciously gave permission, which I acknowledge thankfully. Professor Barrett further invited readers of this blog to review his Jackson documents at the link above and join his list. Professor Barrett's introduction to the speech and the speech are:

Jackson on Republicans, Intelligence & Practicality
(December 1936)
John Q. Barrett*
Copyright © 2009 by John Q. Barrett.
All rights reserved.

On Wednesday evening, December 2, 1936, more than 400 people attended a Democratic Party victory dinner and celebration at the Hotel Jamestown in Jamestown, New York. The guest of honor was Robert H. Jackson, a former Jamestown resident, lawyer and leading Democrat who was serving under President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States Department of Justice as Assistant Attorney General heading the Tax Division. At the time, press reports from Washington indicated that the newly-reelected President Roosevelt was about to appoint Attorney General Homer S. Cummings to a new position, and that Jackson was the leading candidate to succeed Cummings. (As events developed, Cummings continued as Attorney General for almost two more years. His successor was, for a year, Frank Murphy. In 1940, Jackson succeeded Murphy as Attorney General.)

At the Jamestown dinner, following musical entertainment and various addresses, including a principal speech by Francis M. Shea, the young Dean of the University of Buffalo School of Law, Jackson delivered these timely—then, and now—remarks:

My friends and neighbors are generous as well as gracious in singling me out for honors tonight. Many of you could not be expected to enthuse over the political aspects of this occasion and your interest is deeply appreciated. Others are celebrating the event by which the Democratic Party became a majority party not only in state and nation but in this city as well. I share your joy at that achievement. It is a delight to have Dean Shea come to Jamestown for any reason and I feel honored that he should come now.

While I enjoy getting credit for achievements, whether earned or not, I must disclaim all except a very modest share in the victory. It was too general and too sweeping to be attributable to personal efforts. It was a result of a great many contributions.

The local party organization remained loyal from top to bottom. Organized labor gave the most effective demonstration of its strength and solidarity in local history. Our Swedish citizenry were not afraid of the cry of communism and ruin, for they knew that the efforts of the Roosevelt administration were already achievements in their native land. The Italian people have developed a fine group of young professional men who saw in the Democratic policy a fulfillment of the hopes of a people who came here seeking opportunity and security. So many groups broke with their old tradition and they are entitled to the credit for the result.

I am not so confident that the Republican Party is dead. Some sixteen million voters who remained loyal even this year is a very respectable political beginning, if properly led, and if it can make up its mind what its principles are to be. It is terribly handicapped in leadership. Its old leaders are discredited and its future leaders are unknown. They have few governorships, senatorships, or even large mayoralties in which to learn leadership and to develop public standing. Moreover the leadership problem is complicated by the tendency of the seaboard states to want one kind of leadership and the interior another. So the Republican Party is in a bad way. But it is not dead. Democratic blundering might give it life again.

The fact is that the election leaves us with a tremendous responsibility. It is no time for delusions of grandeur nor for animosities, pettiness or partisanship.

Our danger is not from opposition so much as from the lack of it. Our victory may be too devastating to be wholesome. It is a temptation to be reckless, an invitation of factions. We have been given a lot of rope and it will take some self restraint to keep from hanging ourselves, by the excesses and arrogances which too often follow oversized majorities.

There is another danger. We must not forget our responsibilities to those who elected us, just because those who were lately so bitter are now outdoing themselves in proffers for good fellowship. This campaign was no tea party—it had a definite meaning. The cat cannot be put in care of the canary just because it is now purring. Visible opposition is gone but do not believe that invisible underground work has ceased by those whose motto is “Time Marches—Backwards.”

In the president [FDR] and the governor [Herbert H. Lehman] and in our local appeals we offered a fighting faith in real democracy, in economic freedom as well as legal freedom for the working masses. We denied that the injustice and disadvantage under which many people work must be accepted and worshipped as the American way. We believe the soul killing processes of industry and the cruelties of economic life are capable of improvement. We challenged the doctrine that God stopped His great clock in 1789 when our Constitution was framed and that He placed on the Supreme Court a duty of seeing that nothing ever moves again.

In this local campaign, we carried our cause directly to the people who cast the votes. We dealt with no broker. We wasted no time trying to reach workers through their employers. We had no middlemen. Let that be our method always. When we go to the people we educate them to understand us, but far more important they educate us to understand them.

Let us never forget that political campaigns in the large sense are not materialistic. They are of the spirit. Those who came with us cared nothing for our organization, our patronage or our narrower partisanship, and they overlooked our many mistakes. Their response was to ideas and ideals.

It is the salvation of democracy that both sides learn wisdom from a campaign. Although the campaign often seems so unintelligent, it is also characteristic that after the heat of the campaign both sides welcome cooler thought and are glad the bitterness is over with. There is evidence already that conservatives have become more aware of the need of concession, the liberalism more aware of the need of being practical. Only if conservatism is intelligent and liberalism practical can the struggle between the two be solved by the ballot.

So whether we were among the victors or the vanquished, we share together the exciting adventure of free government, with its process of claim and counterclaim, of progress by compromise, of trial and error. Slowly but surely we move to greater economic security, to a more humane and just and equal order of society.

From the bottom of my heart I thank you all for its demonstration of confidence and friendship. It gives courage in whatever little part I may play to remember your trust in me and to keep the faith.

Former AAG Hochman joins Bingham McCutcheon

The Tax Prof Blog reports here that Nathan Hochman will join Bingham McCutchen's Santa Monica, Calif., office on May 1 (today). The Bingham McCutcheon press release is here.

Mary L. Smith, AAG DOJ Tax Designee

According to a White House Press Release on 4/8/2009. the President announced his intent to nominate Mary L. Smith Assistant Attorney General, Tax Division. The portion of the press release related to Ms. Smith is:

Mary L. Smith currently is a Partner at Schoeman, Updike, Kaufman & Scharf LLP, a women-owned firm. Smith specializes in complex litigation, regulatory practice, and government investigations. Earlier in her career, she served as Senior Litigation Counsel at Tyco International (US) Inc. where she managed the securities class action multi-district litigation – one of the largest cases pending in the country. While at Tyco, Smith interacted with the tax department on a range of issues including employee benefits and more strategic issues involving litigation and the company’s corporate reorganization. Prior to Tyco, she was an attorney at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP in Washington, D.C. Prior to her time at Skadden, Smith served in the Clinton White House as Associate Counsel to the President and Associate Director of Policy Planning where she was responsible for a number of policy areas including domestic violence, tax issues, equal pay, Internet gambling, Native American issues, and civil rights issues. She was the highest-ranking Native American in the White House during the Clinton Administration. From 1994-96, Smith served as a trial attorney for the United States Department of Justice Civil Division. Smith graduated from the University of Chicago School of Law, cum laude, where she was a member of the Law Review. Smith clerked for the Hon. R. Lanier Anderson III of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. She received a B.S., magna cum laude, from Loyola University of Chicago. Smith is a member of the American Bar Association’s Commission on Women in the Profession and a member of the Board of Managers for the Chicago Bar Association.

Jonathan Forman Selected IRS Scholar-in-Residence for 2009-2010

Pursuant to IR-2009-38 (April 7, 2009), Jonathan Forman has been selected to be the IRS Scholar-in-Residence for 2009-2010. Jonathan served in the Northern Civil Trial Section from 1979-1983. The Complete release is:


IR-2009-38, April 7, 2009

WASHINGTON –– Internal Revenue Service Acting Chief Counsel Clarissa C. Potter has selected Jonathan Forman as the 2009-2010 Professor in Residence. The IRS Professor in Residence reports directly to the Chief Counsel and provides advice and assistance on a wide array of legal issues within the scope of his or her expertise.

"We are delighted to have Professor Forman join us this fall to share his ideas and experience with our attorneys,” said Potter. “His expertise in many areas, including pension plans and employee benefits, will be extremely beneficial to the office.”

The current professor in residence David Hasen’s term will conclude on July 27, 2009. Forman will serve a nine-month term starting Sept. 1.

Forman since 1985 has been a professor at the University of Oklahoma College of Law where he currently holds the Alfred P. Murrah Professorship. He is vice chair of the Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System (OPERS). From 2001-2003, he served as a member of the Internal Revenue Service’s Advisory Committee on Tax Exempt and Government Entities (ACT).

Forman has written extensively about employee benefits, the federal budget and the earned income tax credit, including over 250 publications, such as Making America Work (Urban Institute Press 2006).

Prior to joining the Oklahoma faculty, Forman clerked for Judge Robert J. Yock at the U.S. Court of Claims in Washington. He has been a trial attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice Tax Division and served as tax counsel to Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan. Forman holds a J.D. from the University of Michigan, an M.A. in economics from the George Washington University, an M.A. in psychology from the University of Iowa, and a B.A. from Northwestern University.

The IRS Chief Counsel’s Professor in Residence program provides some of the nation’s top legal academicians the opportunity to contribute to the development of legal tax policy and administration.

Payson Peabody joins Dykema Gossett PLLC

From Washington Times Movers & Shakers:

Payson Peabody joined national law firm Dykema Gossett PLLC's Washington office. Mr. Payson previously served as tax counsel to Sen. Jim Bunning, Kentucky Republican. He also served as counsel to the assistant attorney general in the Tax Division of the U.S. Department of Justice and as tax counsel at the House Ways & Means Committee.

Carlin Named as Deputy Chief of Staff and Counselor to FBI Director

John P. Carlin has become Deputy Chief of Staff and Counselor to FBI Director Mueller. The announcement may be viewed here. The announcement notes: "Mr. Carlin joined DOJ through the Attorney General’s Program in 1999, first prosecuting criminal cases in the Tax Division before transferring to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in 2001."

Schumacher Article on Tax Statute Interpretation

The Tax Prof Blog reports that alumnus Scott Schumacher has published the following article: MacNiven v. Westmoreland and Tax Advice: Using "Purposive Textualism" to Deal With Tax Shelters and Promote Legitimate Tax Advice, 92 Marq. L. Rev. 33 (2008). The article may be reviewed here. Scott is an assistant professor of law at the University of Washington School of Law.

Schumacher & Townsend Co-Author Book on Tax Crimes

Alumni Scott Schumacher and Jack Townsend have recently co-authored (with Larry Campagna and Steve Johnson) a book, Tax Crimes, in the LexisNexis Graduate Tax Series.

W's DOJ Promo Piece - Tax Division Excerpts

George W. Bush DOJ Promo Piece re George W. Bush Years 2001-2009 (the Tax Division Portion)

Position Available: Senior Tax Mergers & Acquisition Advisor

Senior Tax Mergers & Acquisition Advisor (Attorney)

Job descriptionTax attorney who will participate from a tax perspective in the negotiation, tax planning and integration for an acquiring company. Duties will include the minimizing for the tax cost of integration, participate in due diligence work, calculation of the Sec 382 NOL limitation. Also, determine the purchase price accounting implications of all of the tax costs. Candidate must be capable of succeeding the current director

Required
• Bachelor's Degree
• At least 2 years experience in M and A Tax Experience
• At least 5 years experience in International Tax
• Readiness to travel up to 10%; travelling 1 day a week
• English: Fluent Preferred
• Law

Location
• Armonk, NY

Contact: Alden Powell [mppowell@us.ibm.com]

NPR Article (with Pictures) on DOJ's Murals

On 1/5/2009, NPR had a presentation on the DOJ Murals. The title of the article is "Murals Depict Law and Justice."

The NPR article (with a link to audio) is at: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=98783331

The slide show of pictures of the murals is at: http://www.npr.org/multimedia/2008/12/murals/index.html

Enjoy!