- 40 - cases are distinctly different from the Rousseau case. Accordingly, we do not find petitioners' arguments with respect to the Rousseau case applicable. Under the circumstances of these cases, petitioners failed to exercise due care in claiming large deductions and tax credits with respect to the Partnerships on their respective Federal income tax returns. Petitioners claim that they relied blindly upon their accountants, one of whom, Bachmann, they uniformly describe as a "financial genius". Bachmann is deceased, so we are unable to inquire whether he would claim full credit for what Reimann describes as "this wonderful advice" to invest in the Partnerships. Abramson, the primary tax partner at Bachmann, Schwartz, plainly made only a cursory investigation of the transaction and was not a central figure in these investments. Greene, a Bachmann, Schwartz partner who presented the deal to Brodie, described it as a 4 to 1 tax shelter on which the firm received a 10-percent commission. Petitioners described themselves as innocents who simply followed the advice of their accountants, whose instructions they would not even presume to question. But the record indicates that petitioners were educated, experienced, successful, and prosperous businessmen capable of making their own decisions. Certainly the accountants who testified indicated that interests in the Plastics Recycling partnership were offered only to clients with income available for high risk tax shelter deals which the firm made available and on which it received a commission. Petitioners invested whatPage: Previous 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 Next
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