United States v. Philip Annunziato, United States of America v. Richard Kreling

Annunziato and Kreling were found guilty of filing fraudulent withholding certificates (W-4’s) in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7205 . They were separately indicted and serially tried. Each argues that his indictment should have been dismissed because 26 U.S.C. § 7205 is unconstitutionally vague or, in the alternative, that the indictment should have been dismissed or the government’s evidence suppressed because Privacy Act disclosure requirements were violated in obtaining the false W-4’s. Both contentions are without merit and the judgments are affirmed.

I

Factual Background

Appellants are construction workers who were assigned from time to time by their union halls to work for varied employers. Each routinely completed a W-4 form before starting a new job. In the late 1970’s, each appellant began to claim on these forms that no income taxes should be withheld. Some employers submitted these W-4’s to the IRS.

The IRS sent each appellant a letter requesting that he substantiate or change his claim. When no response was made, the exemptions claimed were checked against those on prior returns.

Because of discrepancies, letters went to employers who had submitted the forms…