Evening star., 1952-04-29
Tax Probers 10 Quiz
Olson on 100000 Fee
From Wine Merchant
By Cecil HoIIond

House investigators inQuiring
into the affairs of former Revenue
Commissioner Joseph D. Nunan.
jr.. today scheduled testimony by
a former head of the Alcohol Tax
Unit in New York.
The witness was gray-haired
James B. E. Olson. He resigned
from the revenue service last
August after the investigation by
the House Ways and Means sub
committee got under way.
Subcommittee members said
they wanted to question him about
the nature Of the services per-
formed for New York winemaker
that yielded him almost $1O0 900.
MIR. Olson was questioned in a
public session last September in
New York.
Another scheduled witness is
Joseph Applebaum, stocky, cigar
chewing New York winemaker.
Nunan Decision Studied.
Representative King, Democrat,
OF California said the subcommit-
tee he heads wants to learn why
Mr.. Nunan overruled field Offices
on two separate occasions and
directed licenses for wine making
be issued to Mr.. Applebaum' s COM
panles. The action was taken, Mr..
King said, soon after Mr.. Nunan
became commissioner of revenue
in 1914.
We are interested in learning
why established procedures were
not followed in this case" Mr..
King added. "and why Mr.. Nunan
gave Mr.. Applebaum what might
best be described as unusually
preferred treatment"
The chairman said that a few
weeks after the. second permit to
Mr.. Applebaum in the fall of 1914,
MIR. Olson went to work for the
Winemaker. although he had no
previous experience in the wine
business" Mr.. King described Mr..
Olson as "a close friend of Mr..
Nunan's."
humans Chief Assistant.
Mr.. Olson served as Mr.. humans
chief assistant when the latter
headed the Brooklyn collectors
Office before being named commits
sloner. He was appointed by Mr..
Nunan as supervisor of the alco-
hol tax unit in New York in 1947
after having received nearly $780,
600 from the winemaker in 1945
and 1916.
The King subcommittee is in
VeStigating the source of $161 500
traced to Mr.. humans bank and
brokerage accounts between 1945
and 1850. Testimony has indi-
Gated that the money was not re-
ported on Mr.. humans income tax
returns for those years and, so
far, Mr.. Nunan has refused to re-
veal its source.
Mr.. Nunan served as commits
Sioner of revenue from March,
1914. until he resigned June 30,
l947. He has been practicing law
in New York and Washington
since then.
Mr.. Applebaum, while hazy on
many details, told the subcom-
mittee yesterday he had known
Mr.. Nunan on a frst-name basis
for several years. But he insist
ed that the former commissioner
never did anything for me-"
Forced Out of Business.
He charged that the alcohol
tax unit in New York prosecuted"
and "bullied" him in his wine
business for reasons he never
understood. and in 1943 forced
him out of business by refusing a
permit.
The witness testified he asked
Mr.. Nunan to help him obtain a
permit. But he said he was de-
MED the right to obtain a ma
jority interest in a wine-making
company and that it was mo ia
vor" that a company in which he
purchased a minority interest was
able to obtain a permit.
Mr.. Applebaum said it was not
until last fall that he learned Mr..
Nunan had overruled the New
York offices and directed a per-
NIT be issued to Mr.. Applebaum'S
companies.
He said Mr.. Olson was en-
ployed at $500 a week to take
care of the Alcohol Tax Unit" and
was worth whatever we paid
him."
Chief Counsel Adrian w. De-
Wind said records showed that
the late DR.. B. r. Rhees, former
head Of the A. T. u, recommended
against the Applebaum permits.
The recommendation. it was said,
was based on previous violations
of regulations by company man
aged by the applicant.