United States v. Goldfine

169 F. Supp. 93, 4 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 5301, 1958 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3017
CourtDistrict Court, D. Massachusetts
DecidedDecember 19, 1958
DocketCr. No. 58-208, 58-209
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 169 F. Supp. 93 (United States v. Goldfine) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Massachusetts primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Goldfine, 169 F. Supp. 93, 4 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 5301, 1958 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3017 (D. Mass. 1958).

Opinion

WYZANSKI, District Judge.

1. On December 10, 1958, the United States filed petitions for attachment for criminal contempt against Bernard Gold-fine and Mildred Paperman, and simultaneously Fred G. Pastore, Group Supervisor, Intelligence Division, Internal Revenue Service, filed against the same persons petitions for civil contempt. All these proceedings arose out of asserted violations of this Court’s Interim Order of December 5, 1958. This Court heard the criminal and civil cases in one set of hearings, Tuesday, December 16, and yesterday, December 18.

2. This set of findings and conclusions relates solely to the attachments for criminal contempt, those proceedings having been finished, and argument had thereon. The attachments for civil contempt abide the presentation on Monday, December 22, 1958, of a written motion by defendants to amend the December 5 Order, and argument of counsel thereon, and on the other questions presented in the civil cases.

[95]*953. The history of the criminal cases begins in the summer of this year. Duly authorized agents of the Internal Revenue Service then started an investigation of the tax liability of five corporations in which defendant Goldfine was interested: Lebanon Mills Corporation, Leb-andale Mills, Inc., George Mabbett & Sons Company, Strathmore Woolen Company, and Northfield Mills, Inc.

4. Defendant Goldfine, at all material times, has been president and treasurer of the first, second, and fourth of these companies, and has been president of the third. By virtue of such offices he has been in a position to exercise control over the records of those corporations. Even as to the minute books of those corporations, he has been in a position to direct the clerks of those corporations to produce them before an appropriate public authority. Defendant Goldfine has authorized defendant Paperman to produce before Internal Revenue Service authorities requested documents belonging to Strathmore Woolen Company. Moreover, she, at all material times, has been in control of the records of North-field Mills, Inc., as well as the records of Strathmore Woolen Company.

5. On July 21, 1958, duly authorized agents of the Internal Revenue Service served administrative subpoenas upon appropriate officials or representatives of the five corporations. In the cases of the first four corporations, defendant Goldfine was the official named in the subpoenas. The subpoenas in each case covered a number of types of documents. For present purposes, it will be sufficient to say that the administrative subpoenas embraced, among other types of documents, these seven records, hereafter called the seven listed records:

(a) from Lebanon Mills Corporation, the accounts receivable ledger for the years 1952 through 1957 [See Exhibit AA].

(b) from Lebanon Mills Corporation, the accounts payable ledger for the years 1952 through 1957 [See Exhibits AB and AC].

(c) from Strathmore Woolen Company, the accounts receivable ledger for the years 1953 through 1957 [See Exhibit E],

(d) from Strathmore Woolen Company, the accounts payable ledger for the years 1953 through 1957 [See Exhibit D].

(e) from Strathmore Woolen Company, the cancelled cheeks for the years 1953 through 1957 [See Exhibit F],

(f) from Northfield Mills, Inc., the accounts receivable ledger for the fiscal years ending April 30, 1953 through April 30, 1957 [See Exhibit T].

(g) from Northfield Mills, Inc., the accounts payable ledger for the fiscal years ending April 30, 1953 through April 30, 1957 [See Exhibit U].

6. To avoid any suggestion of unfairness, it should be specifically stated and emphasized that the administrative subpoenas called for surely more than half a ton of documents, covered many years besides those listed above, and were cast in terms of undifferentiated generality. The reason that this opinion concentrates-on the aforesaid seven records is because with respect to them the evidence is so clear that they command an inevitable conclusion. The only reason to refer to other documents is to see whether for some reason the facts that those other documents were covered by administrative or judicial subpoenas, or were produced by defendants in response to such subpoenas, furnishes some exculpation, excuse, or mitigating circumstance for the defendants’ failure to produce one or more of the seven listed records.

7. After the administrative subpoenas were served, the corporations named therein, through appropriate officers and counsel, l’equested the Internal Revenue Service representatives not to insist on production at the Service’s offices at 55 Tremont Street, Boston, in accordance with the terms of the subpoenas, but instead to examine the records at Kneeland Street. As a matter of convenience, the I.R.S. representatives did not press for [96]*96immediate compliance with the subpoenas.

8. During the summer they examined the records at the Kneeland Street offices of defendant Goldfine. In August or thereabouts each of the seven listed records was personally observed by at least one of the I.R.S. representatives. For example, Agent William L. Donovan examined the Northfield Mills, Inc. accounts receivable ledger and accounts payable ledger, and indeed saw included in their bindings a Yale Wool Waste Co. account which was not so included at the time these ledgers were subsequently offered in evidence to this Court by the ■defendants. [See the portions of Ex. V read into evidence during the re-direct ■examination of William L. Donovan.] It was during this same summer season that Agent Patrick J. Mullens observed duplicate deposit books, cancelled checks, and ■check book stubs of Lebanon Mills Corporation, which have never been produced in response to this Court’s Interim Order.

9. After this examination at the Kneeland Street offices, Pastore determined to require compliance with the administrative subpoenas.

10. On November 5, at Pastore’s instruction, Agent James P. Barry made a formal demand for the Lebanon, Leban-■dale, and Strathmore records. Defendant Goldfine said that the accountants were working on the books. Barry then talked to defendant Paperman about oth■er corporate records, and received a similar answer.

11. Thereupon, in what is known on ■our docket as Case E.B.D. 58-81-W, on December 3, 1958, Pastore filed a petition for enforcement of the aforesaid administrative subpoenas. December 5 this Court held a hearing. On the same ■day, December 5, this Court issued what it entitled as Interim Order. The defendants’ counsel admit that this Order was duly served on the defendants. This ■Order covered the seven listed records .and also a great many other documents, —indeed so many that they certainly would weigh over 1300 pounds and would require a cubic container of at least 6 feet on a side.

12. The seven listed records, however, were plainly described in this Court’s Interim Order. No one, either before the order was issued, when it was issued, or at any time before the second day of the present contempt hearing (that is, yesterday, Thursday, December 18) ever suggested to the Court that the Interim Order failed clearly to demand production of these seven listed records or was burdensome or invalid because these seven listed records were kept in loose leaf binders in which there were on some (but not all) of the detachable pages entries covering current 1958 items which were not embraced within the court’s subpoena.

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Bluebook (online)
169 F. Supp. 93, 4 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 5301, 1958 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3017, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-goldfine-mad-1958.