Whatever
Happened To...
An update on past news
Income tax avoidance case
set for trial Nov. 30Question: What ever happened to Royal Lamarr Hardy, who was awaiting trial on federal charges for failure to file income tax returns for 1995 and conspiring with others to defraud the Internal Revenue Service since 1985?
Answer: Defense attorney Lynn Panagakos, who was recently appointed by the court to represent Hardy, said trial has been continued to Nov. 30 to allow the federal appeals court to hear oral arguments in Hardy's case. The case was to have gone to trial in U.S. District Court on June 15.
Hardy, 47, was indicted in July 2002 along with Ursula A. Supnet, Michael L. Kailing, Fred M. Ortiz and Terry Cassidy stemming from their activities with the Cornerstones of Freedom Research Foundation.
Hardy, as executive director, ran the foundation out of a Nuuanu Ridge home and Metcalf Street address -- allegedly promoting and selling methods to avoid paying income taxes.
According to the indictment, the foundation touted the "reliance defense" -- a package of opinion papers, articles and other documents written by so-called legal and financial experts to help individuals charged with tax evasion or willful failure to file.
The premise of the defense was that if a person does not file a return because he relied on legal advice, there is no willful intent and he cannot be held criminally liable.
Hardy maintains the charges against him violate his First Amendment right to free speech. U.S. District Judge Susan Mollway twice denied his motion for dismissal of the case, including a motion for reconsideration.
All the defendants, except for Cassidy, are free after posting bail. Cassidy is in custody because he was wanted in Oregon for unrelated felony convictions and pending felony charges. He was arrested in Colorado after he was indicted in the Hardy case.
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