Pendola v. Commissioner

50 T.C. 509, 1968 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 106
CourtUnited States Tax Court
DecidedJune 25, 1968
DocketDocket No. 3062-64
StatusPublished
Cited by36 cases

This text of 50 T.C. 509 (Pendola v. Commissioner) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Tax Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Pendola v. Commissioner, 50 T.C. 509, 1968 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 106 (tax 1968).

Opinion

FoRkesteR, Judge:

Respondent has determined that the petitioners are liable for the following income tax deficiencies and additions to their taxes:

Year Deficiency Addition to tax, sec. 6SSS(.b), I.R.C. 19S4-
$11, 138. 36 $5, 569. 18 1961.
28, 299. 74 14, 149. 87 1962.

At trial respondent conceded the correctness of the itemized deductions petitioners claimed on their 1961 and 1962 income tax returns. At the conclusion of the trial petitioners filed a motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction. The following questions now remain for our consideration : Whether we are without jurisdiction because the statutory notice of deficiency was not sent by the district director of internal revenue for the district where petitioners resided at all relevant times; how much income the petitioners failed to report during 1961 and 1962; whether such failure was due to fraud; whether Pauline Péndola is liable for any additions to the tax which will arise if it is found that the failure to report income was due to fraud.

FINDINGS OF FACT

General

Michael and Pauline Péndola are husband and wife. Their legal residence at the time of filing the petition herein was Maspeth, Long Island, N.Y. They filed joint individual income tax returns for the years 1961 and 1962 with the district director of internal revenue, Brooklyn, N.Y. Pauline is a party to this litigation with respect to the issues of unreported income and fraud solely because she signed joint returns with her husband Michael. Consequently, we will refer to Michael as the petitioner.

A stipulation of facts was filed, and its contents are incorporated as a finding by this reference. During 1961, 1962, and part of 1968, petitioner was a tax technician (office auditor) working for the Brooklyn district director of internal revenue. While working for the Brooklyn district director, petitioner became involved in a conspiracy to defraud the United States. The conspiracy initiated and employed a system whereby taxpayers were induced to file fraudulent income tax returns, which when accepted gave rise to refunds to which the taxpayers were not entitled. In furtherance of this conspiracy petitioner was responsible for recruiting coworkers within the Brooklyn district director’s office to process the fraudulent tax returns in such a maimer as to avoid their being audited and discovered by the Internal Bevenue Service.

Petitioner and nine other coconspirators were indicted by a Federal grand jury in Brooklyn, N.Y., on or about September 23, 1964. On September 24, 1965, petitioner pleaded guilty to all counts of the indictment.

Jurisdiction Issue

During 1961 and 1962 petitioners filed joint individual income tax returns with the Brooklyn, N. Y., district director of internal revenue. At all relevant times their residence was within the geographical district under the direction of the Brooklyn district director.

On May 22, 1964, a deficiency notice was mailed to the petitioners by the district director of internal revenue, Manhattan District, New York, asserting deficiencies in tax and additions to the tax for the calendar years 1961 and 1962. The notification was issued on official stationery bearing the heading:

U.S. Treasury Department
Internal Revenue Service
District Director
P.O. Box 3100
New York, N.Y. 10015

and concluded as follows:

Very truly yours,
Moktimek M. Caplust,
Commissioner
By (S) Chakles A. Chukch,
District Director

Charles A. 'Church was district director of the Manhattan district at the time the statutory notice of deficiency was mailed. He was in charge of investigating the entire conspiracy to defraud the Government which was first discovered in the Manhattan district but which was found to spill over into the Brooklyn district. The investigation revealed that fraudulent returns had been filed in both districts, and it disclosed that employees of the Internal Revenue Service in both districts were conspirators. Because the investigation involved the office of the regional inspector and that of both the Manhattan and Brooklyn district directors, it was decided to consolidate the investigation under the director of the Manhattan district.

Within 90 days after receiving the statutory notice, petitioners filed a petition with this Court seeking a redetermination of the deficiencies of which they had been notified. At trial petitioners filed a motion to dismiss. The motion urges that this Court lacks jurisdiction to hear this case because the deficiency notice is null and void. The notice is alleged to be null and void because it was not issued by the Brooklyn district director of internal revenue but by the Manhattan district director.

OPINION

The petitioners argue that the Manhattan district director lacked authority to issue a deficiency notice to a resident of the Brooklyn dis-feriet, and that therefore the notice is null and void and we lack jurisdiction. The relevant Code provision, sec. 6212(a),1 states:

SEC. 6212. NOTICE OE DEFICIENCY.
(a) In General. — If the Secretary or his delegate determines that there is a deficiency in respect of any tax imposed by subtitle A or B, he is authorized to send notice of such deficiency to the taxpayer by registered mail.

Section 301.7701-9 (b), Proced. and Admin. Regs., provides that if a function is vested by the Code in the Secretary or his delegate, and Treasury regulations approved by the Secretary provide that such function may be performed by the 'Commissioner or a district director, such provision in the regulations shall constitute a delegation by the Secretary of the authority to perform such function to the designated officer. Accordingly, the authority to send deficiency notices is delegated by section 301.6212-1 (a), Proced. and Admin. Regs., which states in pertinent part that:

If a district director * * determines that there is a deficiency in respect of income * * * tax * * * he is authorized to notify the taxpayer * * * by * * * mail * * * [Emphasis supplied.)

This regulation makes it clear that district directors have the authority to send deficiency notices. There is no provision in the Code or Treasury regulations which limits district directors’ authority to send deficiency notices to taxpayers within a particular district.

The petitioner relies upon section 301.7701-10, Proced. and Admin. Regs., which states in pertinent part: “The term ‘district director’ means the district director of internal revenue for an internal revenue district.

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Bluebook (online)
50 T.C. 509, 1968 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 106, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pendola-v-commissioner-tax-1968.