Tuesday, December 15, 2015

John Nolet's Death on December 12 (12/15/15)

I received an email this morning from Robert Bruffy DOJ Tax, containing the following from an email to DOJ Tax personnel about the death of John Nolet, a DOJ Tax attorney:
It is with great sadness that I share with you the news of John Nolet’s passing on Saturday, December 12.  John was an attorney in the Appellate Section from 1992 until his death. Described by those who knew him well as a “true gentleman,” John will be missed by his friends and colleagues throughout the Tax Division. His professional and personal generosity, along with his quiet strength, will long be remembered.  Although the funeral will be in Massachusetts, there is a viewing tomorrow at the Stauffer Funeral Home in Mt. Airy, MD.  The obituary link below provides more details.  \\ 
http://www.staufferfuneralhome.com/notices/John-Nolet

The indicated visitation (from the linked site) is:  "The family will receive friends from 3 to 5 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, December 15, 2015 at Stauffer Funeral Home, 8 E. Ridgeville Boulevard in Mt. Airy, MD."

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Tax Division Alumnus in the Tax News (10/27/15)

Yesterday, the Tax Court decided the case of Estate of Redstone v. Commissioner, 145 T.C. 145 T.C. 259, 261 (2015), here.  I post the case here because an alumnus is a player in the drama in the case.  Here is the pertinent quote about his service with the Tax Division:
Sumner [Redstone] graduated from Harvard College in 1944 and Harvard Law School in 1947. He practiced law for several years, including a stint in the Tax Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, before starting work in 1954 for the family business. 
Many of you will recall the name Sumner Redstone.  His Wikipedia entry is here.

The following footnote also appears in the decision:
   n2  Sumner is the petitioner in a companion case, Redstone v. Commissioner, T.C. Dkt. No. 8097-13 (filed Apr. 10, 2013). That case has not been consolidated with the instant case. While the cases share a common factual background, they present different issues.

Sunday, October 11, 2015

Boente Nominated as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia (10/11/15)

From the White House announcement, here:
Eastern District of Virginia 
Dana J. Boente has served in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia since 2000.  Currently, Boente serves as the Acting United States Attorney, a position he has held since 2013 and from 2008 to 2009, as well as First Assistant United States Attorney, a position he has held since 2007.  While at the United States Attorney’s Office, he served as the Interim United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana from December 2012 to September 2013 and, while on detail, as the Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Tax Division of the United States Department of Justice from 2005 to 2007.  From 1984 to 2000, he served as a Trial Attorney in in the Tax Division of the United States Department of Justice.  Boente began his legal career as a clerk for the Honorable J. Waldo Ackerman of the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois from 1982 to 1984.  He received his J.D. magna cum laude in 1982 from St. Louis University School of Law, and his M.B.A in 1977 and B.S.B.A. cum laude in 1976, both from St. Louis University.

Saturday, October 10, 2015

Jerry Parr's Death On October 9 (10/10/15)

Larry Meuwissen sent this item to me on the death of Jerry Parr who was not a DOJ Tax Alum.  In the tax world and DOJ Tax Alum world, we know his wife, Carolyn Parr, retired Tax Court Judge and DOJ Tax Alum.  I normally do not post death notices for relatives of DOJ Tax Alums, but given this relative's prominence, I thought it was appropriate to post this one.

Jerry Parr was the principal Secret Service Agent assisting President Reagan in the shooting incident and making the quick decision to get him to the hospital.  Many credit him with saving President Reagan's life.

The CNN article is here, the NYT article is here, and the Wikipedia entry is here.

Thursday, September 10, 2015

Ralph Romano Death on 9/6/15 (9/10/15)

Ralph Romano died on 9/6/15.  Here is an article:  Ralph Romano, 73, retired administrative-law judge (Philly.com 9/9/15), here.

According to my database, Ralph was in Civil - Western and General Litigation.  I don't have the years.

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Clare E. Connors Nominated for Federal District Court Slot (9/9/15)

From the White House Release, here:
Clare E. Connors:  Nominee for the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii 
Clare E. Connors has been an attorney at the law firm of Davis Levin Livingston in Honolulu, Hawaii since 2011, where her practice focuses on civil litigation.  From 2004 to 2011, she served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Criminal Division of the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Hawaii.  From 2003 to 2004, she served as a Trial Attorney in the Tax Division of the United States Department of Justice and also served on detail as a Special Assistant United States Attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia.  Connors began her legal career as a law clerk to the Honorable David Alan Ezra of the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii from 2002 to 2003.  She received her J.D. from Harvard Law School in 2002 and her B.A. cum laude from Yale College in 1996. 

Monday, August 31, 2015

Fran Allegra Death on August 27 (8/30/11)

Fran Allegra died on August 27.  Links for information are:

Washington Post Notice - here.
Obituary Notice - here.
Guest Book - here.


Monday, June 1, 2015

Tribute Booklet for Myron C. ("Mike") Baum (6/1/15)

In going through some old files, I found the tribute booklet for Mike Baum and share it in pdf format with the alumni.  The booklet is here.

The contributors are (in order presented):

Robert M. Baum
John F. Murray
Edie & David Tael
Sheldon S. Cohen
Fred B. Ugast
Herbert N. Beller
Claire Fallon
Griffin B. Bell (letter of 8/7/79)
Nancy Stanley
Cathy Livingston
Tom Troyer
Stan Krysa
Mortimer Caplin
Carleton Powell
Leonard Van Slyke
Beth Kaufman
Thad Williams
Cecilia Sqarlata
Shirley Peterson


Friday, May 22, 2015

Robert Handros Death on February 17 (5/22/15)

Robert Handros died on February 17.  He was a trial attorney in General Litigation and thereafter in Civil Northern.  His obituary is here.

Paul Barker Death on April 15 (5/22/15)

Paul Barker died on April 15.  He was a trial attorney in General Litigation and Civil Trial Northern, having previously worked with the IRS.  His obituary is here.

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Tax Division Event Contemporaneous with ABA Tax Section Meeting on May 8 (4/28/15)

To the DOJ Tax Division Alumni:

I received the following email from Bob Bruffy, the Executive Officer of the Tax Division regarding an opportunity for DOJ Tax Alumni to attend a Tax Division outing at a Washington Nationals baseball game on Friday, May 8, which is contemporaneous with the ABA Tax Section May Meeting in DC.  The game will start at 7:05pm.  The opposing team is the Atlanta Braves.  Here is the text of the Bob's email:
We bought 76 tickets to the game, and have sold 53 so far to employees and family.  Any alumni who are interested in attending can send an email to Mike Martineau at Tax.Mail@usdoj.gov with the words “Baseball” in the subject line.   Tickets are $33 each, and will be available a few days before the game, and we’ll have to make arrangements to distribute them – perhaps we can hand them out at the ABA meeting, or folks can stop by the office to pick them up before 5 on the 8th. 
It would be great to have some tax Division alums join us! 
Bob

Friday, March 20, 2015

Gene Sayre Death (3/20/15)

I have been advised that Gene Sayre died on 3/18/15.  I do not now have more details, but I understand that an obituary and guestbook will be posted on the following website:

http://www.littlerockfuneralhome.com/obituaries/Eugene-Sayre/#!/Obituary

I will post more information as I get it.

I knew Gene, although not all that well.  He was a wonderful, smart and funny guy.  Other alumni who knew Gene and have comments (including anecdotes) are encouraged to post them here.

Monday, March 16, 2015

Memoriam for William H. Bill Bowen (3/16/15)

William H. ("Bill") Bowen, deceased, was honored with an In Memoriam gathering including Lynn Foster, Joel E. Anderson, Byron M. Eiseman, John Gill, Chuck Goldner, Kenneth S. Gould, Charles E. Hathaway, James L. "Skip" Rutherford, III and President Bill Clinton.  The comments are published in 37 U.Ar., Little Rock Law Review 1 (Fall 2014).  The University of Arkansas at Little Rock is also called the William H. Bowen School of Law.  See here.  I cannot provide a link to the publication because it has not yet appeared on the law review's web page, here [but at some point it will appear].

The following excerpts are from the publication (bold-face supplied by JAT):

From Byron M. Eiseman, Partner, Friday, Eldredge & Clark
1. Bill Bowen, the lawyer. Following his graduation from the University of Arkansas School of Law, Bill continued his academic career by attending NYU. Afterwards he became a clerk to Judge Bolon B. Turner of the U.S. Tax Court, a native Arkansan. His next job was employment with the Tax Division of the Department of Justice traveling around the country winning tax cases for the government many of which appeared to be losers. His successes distinguished him in the eyes of his immediate superior, Charles Mehaffy, who happened to be the brother of Pat Mehaffy, the original managing partner of our firm then known as Mehaffy, Smith & Williams. Charles Mehaffy contacted his brother, Pat, and told him the firm needed to hire a boy named Bowen from Altheimer who was the brightest star in tax litigation matters for the government. Bill reported to work in 1954 and soon began his legendary career in Arkansas. He became a name partner in 1962 and was one of the most successful lawyers in the state. On separate occasions he successfully represented two Hot Springs lawyers accused of criminal tax evasion and several well-known Arkansas families in civil tax disputes. In each instance, criminal and civil, the jury was out only a few minutes and Bill was established as one of Arkansas's foremost tax practitioners and litigators. One of my most memorable experiences with Bill was my first trip to St. Louis to present oral arguments on a tax case that we had won in Federal District Court and the government had appealed to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. Bill could do things off the seat of his pants better than anyone I have ever known, and he had focused very little on our presentation. On the way to the courthouse he advised me that I was to make the leadoff argument and then he would summarize our position. When asked by the presiding judge of a three-judge panel who would be making the taxpayer's argument he proceeded to say I would go first and that he would follow. Chief Judge Martin Van Oosterhout, the presider, pointed out that normally only one attorney would make the argument, but acceded to Bill's request. I took the first twenty minutes of the allotted thirty and then Bill took over. The bell rang at the twenty-nine minute mark indicating our time was almost up. Bill, with no hesitation, quickly advised the Court that he had some very important points yet to share with the Court and that he would likely need a few extra minutes. After the Chief Judge glanced at his fellow panelists, he shrugged his shoulders and said "Very well, Mr. Bowen." Bill was never inhibited in making a request or taking an action that he believed would benefit his client. 
* * * * 
3. Bill Bowen, the justice. In early 2010 at the age of eighty-six years, Bill was named by Governor Mike Beebe to serve as a justice on the Arkansas Supreme Court to complete the unexpired term of Justice Annabelle Imber Tuck who had earlier resigned. Justice Bowen was soon assigned his first case by Chief Justice Jim Hannah and given a stack of briefs and supporting documents that in his eyes appeared to be at least two feet tall. Justice  [*9]  Bowen did not sleep well for a few nights as he fretted over "What have I gotten myself into?" A health issue arose and Bill decided that he needed to let someone younger, but likely less wise, assume his position on the Court.
From President Bill Clinton:
But I want to say that by the time Bill Bowen agreed basically to make it possible for me to run for president--and I say that in all sincerity--I was profoundly concerned about what would happen if I were to undertake a campaign in 1991, and I wanted to know that the office would continue to operate and that things would go well, and that if I needed to make a decision or come home, somebody with enough sense to know would tell me and get me on a plane forthwith. 

Saturday, March 7, 2015

Update on Larry Meuwissen (3/7/15)

ALJ Larry Meuwissen retired on February 28, 2015 after more than 22 cumulative years of federal service in DOJ Tax, Department of Interior, and the last 13 years with the  Social security Administration.  Larry and his wife, Joyce, just returned from 5 weeks in Africa and are planning to open their bed and breakfast, Sans Adieu,  in St. Paul MN sometime this summer.  Look for them on airbnb in June.

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Cono Namorato to Be DOJ Tax AAG (2/24/15)

President Obama has announced his intent to nominate Cono Namorato as the Assistant Attorney General of DOJ Tax.  The announcement included the following description of Cono:
Cono R. Namorato is currently a Member of the law firm Caplin & Drysdale, a position he has held since 2006 and previously from 1978 to 2004. From 2004 to 2006, Mr. Namorato served as Acting Deputy Commissioner for certain designated matters and as Director of the Office of Professional Responsibility for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the Department of the Treasury. Before beginning his career at Caplin & Drysdale, Mr. Namorato held various positions within the Tax Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ), including Deputy Assistant Attorney General from 1977 to 1978, Assistant Chief and then Chief of the Criminal Section from 1973 to 1977, and Supervisory Trial Attorney and Trial Attorney from 1968 to 1973. Mr. Namorato began his career in 1963 as a Special Agent for the Criminal Investigation Division of the IRS in the Brooklyn District. He is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and a fellow of the American College of Tax Counsel. Mr. Namorato has headed various tax-related committees and subcommittees for the American Bar Association, serving as Chair of the Tax Section’s Subcommittee on Criminal Tax Policy, Chair of the Committee on Tax Litigation, and Co-Chair of the Committee on Complex Criminal Litigation of the Litigation Section. Mr. Namorato received a B.B.A. from Iona College and a J.D. from Brooklyn Law School.
JAT Comment:  I have known Cono since my earliest days at DOJ Tax in 1969.  Cono was in the Criminal Section.  I was in the Appellate Section.  Our Sections had offices adjacent to each other.  Cono befriended me earlier and I always appreciated that.  He is a class act.