Opinion ID: 370140
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Evidence of Pending Tax Case

Text: 48 In defense Ariza called a Puerto Rico tax lawyer who testified that he had been retained to represent Ariza in a civil tax deficiency case brought against him by the United States in relation to the $5 million found in his possession on his arrest. In an effort to suggest that the $5 million was from legitimate sources, the lawyer testified that Ariza was a wealthy man with substantial property in Colombia. He did not testify, however, to any direct link between Ariza's Colombian property and the $5 million. 49 The government, which originally objected to the lawyer's testimony as irrelevant, brought out on cross-examination that the tax deficiency cases would not have been asserted against Ariza's property in Colombia, but rather against the $5 million deposited in one month in a bank in Puerto Rico, where Ariza had no known property. Defendants now object that the prosecution's treatment of the tax claim on cross-examination implied that Ariza had earned money illegally in Puerto Rico. Since the tax deficiency case was as yet unproven, defendants argue that this implication was irrational and therefore constitutionally invalid, citing Barnes v. United States, 412 U.S. 837, 93 S.Ct. 2357, 37 L.Ed.2d 380 (1973) (permissible inference that one in unexplained possession of stolen goods knew property was stolen held reasonable), and Leary v. United States, 395 U.S. 6, 89 S.Ct. 1532, 23 L.Ed.2d 57 (1969) (inference that, absent satisfactory explanation, possessor of marijuana knew marijuana was illegally imported held irrational). This argument mischaracterizes the import of the cross-examination and is without merit. The prosecution did not argue that as a matter of law Ariza could be presumed to have earned money illegally. The defense itself had acquainted the jury with the pending tax case; it had invited inquiry into the source of the $5 million and had tried to suggest that it originated in Colombia. It was well within the permissible limits of cross-examination and impeachment to explore the possible scope of the tax claims. It was also perfectly legitimate to try to show that Ariza's vast holdings in Colombia bore little necessary relation to the $5 million that he had in Puerto Rico, and to use information developed on direct examination to hoist defendants with their own petard. In addition to the fact that the tax case focused on Ariza's funds in Puerto Rico and not in Colombia, the prosecutor brought out that the lawyer had seen no documents linking Ariza's money in Puerto Rico to sales of coffee, cattle or grain, and that Ariza had declared no money on entering Puerto Rico, despite a requirement that amounts in excess of $5,000 be noted. This served the legitimate impeaching function of casting doubt on the lawyer's knowledge of the true source of Ariza's wealth and on the value of his testimony on that subject. Indeed, by discrediting the witness' assurances that Ariza's wealth was derived from legitimate business sources, it enhanced the tendency of the evidence of Ariza's cash transactions to confirm the charge that Ariza was a large-scale drug dealer. See Hinton, 543 F.2d at 1012-13 (failure to file tax return); Cf. Falley, 489 F.2d at 38-40 (tax returns showing low income). While Ariza understandably was chagrined at having a subject he had raised turned against him, the government did no more than employ cross-examination for a permissible purpose.