Taxable Talk

A week ago I wrote about former Louisiana State Senator Charles Jones. Just before his retrial on tax evasion, he was cited for driving while under the influence. That apparently wasn’t a good omen for Mr. Jones.

His trial was last week, and the jury began deliberating on Monday. After three hours, they found him guilty of all three counts of tax evasion. The IRS and Department of Justice showed, to the satisfaction of the jury, that Mr. Jones evaded taxes on about $750,000 of legal fees (around $190,000 of taxes). Mr. Jones will be sentenced in December.

When I last wrote about Charles Jones, he had pleaded not guilty to three counts of tax evasion. The first trial ended in a mistrial. His retrial is set to begin on Monday.

Well, there’s nothing like a good drink (or two, three, or four) to relax before a federal trial. It appears that’s exactly what Mr. Jones did. He then took the wheel of his car, and was pulled over for failing to use his turn signals when turning. The report in the Monroe (Louisiana) News-Star notes, “…the former Democratic senator was unsteady on his feet and was using his car for balance.” Add alcohol on the breath and a failed blood alcohol test, and Mr. Jones has something else to worry about after his tax trial.