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considered. Freytag v. Commissioner, 89 T.C. 849, 888 (1987),
affd. 904 F.2d 1011 (5th Cir. 1990), affd. 501 U.S. 868 (1991).
Reliance on representations by insiders, promoters, or
offering materials has been held an inadequate defense to
negligence. Goldman v. Commissioner, 39 F.3d 402, 408-409 (2d
Cir. 1994), affg. T.C. Memo. 1993-480; LaVerne v. Commissioner,
94 T.C. 637, 652-653 (1990), affd. without published opinion 956
F.2d 274 (9th Cir. 1992), affd. without published opinion sub
nom. Cowles v. Commissioner, 949 F.2d 401 (10th Cir. 1991).
Our focus in this case is only with respect to the
charitable contributions deductions claimed by petitioner, which
were part of the Mount Mercy partnership transaction.
Petitioner asserts that he is not liable for the additions
to tax under section 6653 because of reasonable, good faith
reliance on professional advice, which he received from Arnold R.
Petralia (Petralia), an attorney.
Petralia is an attorney with offices in Rochester, New York.
The parties stipulated that Petralia is an attorney with
expertise in tax law.
In 1985, Petralia was retained by the Mount Mercy
partnership to write the Memorandum, including the portions
relating to the charitable contribution deductions. Petralia and
his firm were to answer the tax questions of potential investors.
Petralia was paid by Mount Mercy for his legal services.
Petralia was not a salesman for the partnership and did not
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