| tax 2003-04-02 |
| Two veteran Miami-Dade County police officers who refused to acknowledge the authority of the Internal Revenue Service for years were indicted Tuesday on federal tax-evasion charges.
Officers William B. Oertwig Jr., 59, and Ronald E. Young, 44, will be freed on $200,000 and $150,000 bond, respectively. U.S. Magistrate Judge John J. O'Sullivan required them to comply with a strict overnight curfew. Oertwig, a 28-year patrol officer from the Cutler Ridge district, and Young, a 20-year detective in the warrants division, were immediately relieved from duty without pay, said Miami-Dade Cmdr. Linda O'Brien. Both had been moved to administrative desk jobs while internal affairs and the IRS were investigating the charges that they filed false W-4s claiming they were exempt from withholding, filed fraudulent tax returns and failed to file returns. Federal prosecutor Anita Gay said Oertwig repeatedly obstructed justice by giving false statements to IRS agents, refusing to respond to a grand jury subpoena and hiding the extent of his true wealth by placing cars, houses and bank accounts in business trusts. Young, who maintains dual citizenship in the United States and Belize, was ordered to surrender his passports. ''There is no secret way to not pay taxes,'' IRS spokeswoman Ellie Michaud said. |
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