United States v. James P. O'Neal

O’Neal was convicted of four counts of tax evasion. He appeals the district court’s denial of his motion to dismiss Count 1, arguing that the indictment was improperly rendered after the applicable statute of limitations had tolled. He also appeals the denial of his motion to sever Count 1 from the other counts, asserting that the substantial evidence supporting Count 1 contributed to the jury’s finding of guilt on the remaining counts. Our jurisdiction is based on 28 U.S.C. § 1291 (1982). We affirm.

FACTS

In 1983, the Oregon Department of Revenue conducted an audit of defendant O’Neal’s state income tax returns for prior years. The state auditor referred his case to the Criminal Investigation Division of the Internal Revenue Service. A criminal complaint was filed on April 15,1986 in the federal district court of Oregon charging O’Neal with filing a false federal income tax return for the year 1979 in a willful attempt to evade payment of income taxes. The amount of tax evasion alleged was $27,354 for that year. The complaint was filed in Portland, Oregon on the last date for commencing prosecution under the applicable six-year statute of limitations. 26 U.S.C. § 6531 (1982).…