Raymond L. Monk, Jr. - Page 2




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          should have been reporting his income from the bar as nothing               
          more than rent.  “Taxation * * * is eternally lively; it concerns           
          nine-tenths of us more directly than either smallpox or golf, and           
          has just as much drama in it; moreover, it has been mellowed and            
          made gay by as many gaudy, preposterous theories.”1                         
               We must decide, in this lively controversy, whether Monk was           
          merely a landlord or whether, as the Commissioner implies, this             
          is just another gaudy, preposterous theory.                                 
                                  FINDINGS OF FACT                                    
               Raymond Monk has dabbled over the years in a variety of                
          businesses, including drywall installation, plumbing, running a             
          delicatessen, and even raising rabbits.  He’s also invested in              
          more than a half dozen pieces of commercial real estate in and              
          around Baltimore.  In all but one of these rental arrangements,             
          Monk declined to draft written leases, relying instead on “you              
          pay, you stay” oral agreements.2                                            
               Charles (Chuck) Maney met Monk more than twenty years ago              
          when Monk was dating his sister.  Their friendship grew and Maney           
          went to work for Monk in both his plumbing and drywall                      
          businesses.  When Monk decided to retire from construction, Maney           


               1 H.L. Mencken, “The Dismal Science,” Smart Set, June 1922,            
          at 42.                                                                      
               2 Monk has only one written lease in his entire portfolio--            
          with a tenant who demanded formal documentation to maintain a               
          liquor license.                                                             






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