Wolcher

The appellant was convicted under an -indictment charging that he wilfully and knowingly attempted to evade and defeat some $30,000 of the income and victory taxes due and owing by him for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1944, in violation of § 145(b) of the Internal Revenue Code, 26 U.S.C.A. § 145 (b). The questions presented on this appeal all relate to claimed errors in admitting and excluding evidence. It is therefore necessary to state only enough of the facts to indicate the significance of the evidence rejected or admitted over objection.

The theory of the Government’s proof was that during the year in question Wol-cher collected large sums from the sale of whiskey from which he derived income which he failed to return. The sales were made through San Francisco liquor wholesalers who would receive checks for the ceiling price of the liquor while the purchaser would pay an additional over ceiling amount in cash which went to Wolcher. His income tax return reported no gross income from sales of liquor at wholesale (which the sales above described were) except for an item of $3,000 profit made on a transaction not involved here.

Wolcher admitted the over-ceiling…