United States v. Bruno F. Sinigaglio

Criminal charges were brought against Bruno Sinigaglio, a federal employee, for tax code violations. He argues his conviction must be reversed because his right to juror information under 26 U.S.C. § 6103 (h)(5) was impaired. We find the government did not substantially comply with the statute, we reverse and remand for a new trial. We reject his other claims of error.

I

Sinigaglio was a human factors engineer employed by the civil branch of the United States Army. He allegedly has not filed a tax return since 1977 when he vowed never to pay taxes again.

A six-count information charged him with the misdemeanor of willful failure to file income tax returns from 1982 to 1987. In preparing his defense, Sinigaglio moved for release of classified military information about his employment. The magistrate granted the motion. Five days later, Sinigaglio was indicted for the original six counts plus one felony count for willfully submitting a false, fictitious or fraudulent claim for a refund. His motion to dismiss for prosecutorial vindictiveness was denied.

Sinigaglio moved for an early release of the prospective juror list so he could obtain information from the Treasury Department…