- 50 -                                        
          characterized that agreement as “the government’s fraud and                 
          perfidy in a secret deal between Cravens and Thompson on the one            
          hand and IRS attorney McWade (and other government officials) on            
          the other hand.”  The misconduct, as Mr. Kersting described it,             
          “involves a settlement in favor of Cravens/Thompson in exchange             
          for the damaging testimony and exhibits that were all put                   
          together as part of a prearranged plan.”  In September 1992, Mr.            
          Kersting advised the Kersting project petitioners who had signed            
          piggyback agreements that they should demand “the same                      
          concessions arranged by the Revenue Service for Thompson and                
          Cravens.  An arrangement whereby $100,000.00 of taxes allegedly             
          owed were reduced to a mere $15,000.00”.  He also informed the              
          Kersting project participants of the progress of the appeals in             
          the test cases:  “I had reason to believe that the Appeal of                
          Judge Goffe’s decision at the 9th Circuit [Court] of Appeals in             
          San Francisco was just around the corner.  It did not come about            
          that quickly, as you know.”  Mr. Kersting noted the misconduct of           
          the Government’s lawyers and added:  “It threw the Appeals                  
          schedule into turmoil and motions had to be filed to ask for an             
          extension of time for filing the Appeal.”                                   
               In addition, all relevant information Messrs. O’Donnell and            
          Jones had about the litigation of the test cases is attributable            
          to their clients, petitioners herein.  See Commissioner v. Banks,           
          543 U.S.    ,    , 125 S. Ct. 826, 832 (2005); Veal v. Geraci, 23           
Page:  Previous   40   41   42   43   44   45   46   47   48   49   50   51   52   53   54   55   56   57   58   59   NextLast modified: May 25, 2011