European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 27, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Wednesday november 27, 1985 the stars and stripes Page 7 Gao details irs problems in Philadelphia Washington a a report on internal Rev Cuc service problems in Philadelphia tells of tax re turns that turned up in trash cans and women s restrooms of thousands of refund checks being mutilated and of two supervisors who had to work 80-hour weeks. The report released tuesday by the general accounting office also describes costly computer prob lems and worker turnover at the Philadelphia service Center. A unit that fixes tax return errors lost 45 tax examiners from mid february through april 1985 due to Resig nations firings reassignment or voluntary furloughs the report said. It said the unit was plagued by 367 hours of computer downtime Between february and july and by unacceptably Long computer response times. Irs officials have blamed their problems this year on a change to a new computer system. The 66-Page report by the congressional oversight Agency was requested in april by Senate finance com Mittee chairman Bob Packwood r-Ore., and commit tee members John Heinz r-pa., and William v. Roth jr., a Del. The Gao which said it would refrain from drawing conclusions or making recommendations got its information largely from irs records and interviews. The senators sought the investigation following re ports of overworked irs employees destruction of tax returns and a faulty computer tape which the Agency said caused thousands of improper tax delinquency notices to be mailed to businesses in the mid Atlantic Region. Irs commissioner Roscoe l. Egger or. Told a Senate panel last week that the government has paid s47 Mil lion in interest this year on tax returns not processed by the Agency within the required 45 Days after the april 15 filing deadline. For the same period last year the figure was $27 million. As of oct. 18, the Philadelphia Center was responsible for More than one third of the total even though there Are nine similar regional offices around the nation the Gao report said. A major Section of the document focused on nine alleged incidents of lost tax documents in Phila Delphia from july 1980 to june 1985. According to the report seven of these incidents were substantiated by the irs including last april 109 envelopes containing checks for $333,440 As Well As 60 tax forms and returns were found in trash barrels. An internal audit said workers May not have ripped the envelopes open to make sure they were empty. Of the 12 employees in the unit three worked 19, 17 and 14 consecutive Days respectively while two supervisors worked consecutive 80-hour weeks. Ninety two tax returns were found in two women s restrooms at the Center in july 1984. An audit said the returns had already been processed. A mail clerk was fired last june for continually disposing of taxpayers forms and checks in the waste paper  the report did not specify How Many forms were discarded. The report said the irs had been unable to substantiate a Rumor that As Many As 50,000 tax returns were destroyed a few years ago. The report also said the irs had found no evidence to support allegations the Agency Back dated refund checks to May 30 or before to avoid interest payments after the 45-Day limit. Taxpayers had reported big gaps Between when their checks arrived and the Date on he Check. The report said 9,062 refund checks dated May 30 were delivered to the Post office late. Of those it said 4,191 were mutilated by the Philadelphia financial Center during processing and had to be redone while the rest were delayed by a bureaucratic snafu. To try to expedite processing and alleviate taxpayers headaches the Center began a program in May under which people could file duplicate returns. If searches revealed no record of the original return the Center processed the duplicate. But the program was a Flop proving More costly than if the Agency Nad continued its Normal procedures the report said. It said the failure was attributed to the unexpected volume of duplicate returns the complexity associated with establishing processing and control procedures and the number of persons needed to staff the  Ink .11.11011113 a gum lilt  Lullu whig 1c rom Wulk ill Iii in Ilici Iii jul i to1 my Ilu Ull  nil.  null  n  i Ivy. Return cd urls s fired Las r continually program. Widow says husband did t blame smoking for illness Santa Barbara. Calif. A a during the night to smoke. Three Are . Reynolds brands. Earlier a juror was removed after Ray widow who filed a is million wrongful if he woke up during the night As soon by 1976. Galbraith said he was suffer nolds lawyers said they Learned that she put death lawsuit against a tobacco company described her husband s last years of life on bottled oxygen and testified monday that he said smoking was t at  Elayne Galbraith the first witness called by lawyer Melvin Belli in the lawsuit against . Reynolds tobacco co., told jurors that her husband John smoked three packs of cigarettes a Day during most of their married life and sometimes awoke durin if he woke up during the night As soon As he put his feet to the ground he lit a cigarette she testified. Galbraith said her husband smoked camels until the Early 1960s, when he switched to filtered Winston. He had read some information in magazines and newspapers about filters and How they filtered out tars and he decided he would try them she said adding that a few years later he switched to salems. All thre Bing dizziness and periodic blackouts. I suggested smoking was perhaps the  she told the court. His response was to the effect he was sure smoking was not Al fault that everything he had read told him it was  soon afterwards she said he was diag nosed As having severe emphysema and was placed on oxygen 24 hours a Day. He died in 1982 at the age of 69. Earlier r r Rey nolds s Sai Learne t she t no smoking signs in her office. I can t believe this is happening said the juror. Bar Nadette Mobarak. She said that she had not posted the signs. She said that she had asked to be moved away from a co worker who left cigarettes burning in an ashtray. She suggested that office politics had prompted her Ray Theon corp. Colleagues to Contact the Tobac co company s lawyers. Man gets probation in sister s death Pendleton Ore. A a conscience stricken Man who confessed last month to sexually abusing and then killing his teen age sister 11 years ago when she feared she was pregnant was sentenced monday to five years probation. Kalib Valentine 26, of the los Angeles suburb of belly lower also was ordered to do 240 hours of Community service work pay $50 in court costs and undergo evaluation to determine whether he needs alcohol drug or men Tal health counselling. If i could some Way see a gain in incarcerating you i would do it Umatilla county circuit judge Robert Abms told Valentine. Valentine could have gotten a 20 year sentence on the first degree manslaughter charge. I m not going to give you the luxury of thinking that you have paid your debt to society because you Haven to the judge said. The judge also noted that the state would t be Here today if you had t come Forward and confessed to the crime. After hearing his sentence Valentine sat Down sniffed repeatedly and wiped his eyes with a handkerchief. The 14-year-old girl s death had been ruled a suicide and an autopsy had found no sign of pregnancy. Valentine who changed his name from Michael Wilson made the confession during an october news conference at his attorney s los Angeles office. Valentine said he killed his sister. Karen Roche Lac Wil son in their Pendleton Home after she told him she thought she was pregnant. He said he put a handgun in his sister s Mouth and pulled the trigger in an Effort to make her death look like suicide. I was crazy. Crazy. There s no other word for it he told reporters last month. For once in my life i want to do something right and this is  Valentine said the slaying followed a yearlong incestuous relationship with his sister. Valentine s conscience finally led him to Call a hot line that offers free leg advice. He was referred to los an Geles attorney Robert Rentzer. After the news conference he returned to Pendleton to enter his guilty plea and was released on his own recognizance. In terms of punishment he s lived with this deservedly for 11 years Rentzer told Abrams. The Penally he has paid. Cliche though it seems is worse than any  18 arrested in Fri sweep of crime figures Bridgeport Conn. A the Fri conducted a sweep of organized crime figures across Connecticut Early monday arresting 18 people on charges ranging from gambling to violating the Federal anti racketeering act authorities said. The arrests took place in Bridgeport Fairfield. Brat Ford and Trumbull. A 19th person is being sought. The arrests capped a two year investigation into Mem Bers of the Vito Genovese organized crime family which the Fri says is based in new York and runs a crime organization in Connecticut. One of the people arrested monday on Federal gambling charges s Ttomas Lance 42, of Fairfield a Carpenter employed by Bridgeport s Public works department. Bridgeport mayor Thomas w. Bucci immediately sus Pended unease with pay after being told of the arrest and said he would meet with other town officials to determine if Lanese should be suspended without pay. All 18 of the people arrested were released on bail following hearings before . Magistrate Thomas p. Smith. A hearing will be held dec. 13 to determine if there was probable cause for the arrests. Several of the people arrested were charged with conspiring to violate the Federal racketeer influenced and corrupt organizations act which includes any criminal act that continues Over several years. The investigation included five months of court authorized electronic surveillance said William a. Reefer prosecutor for the Justice department s organized crime and racketeering strike Force. Search and seizure warrants also were used and information provided by a number of cooperating witnesses he said. Let the Turkey speak Wilfred a 60-Pound torn Turkey Canie to president Reagan s Rescue monday in the Rose Garden. Report ers persisted in asking about the egy Plair hijacking the us Reform and farm Bills and other issues until Wilfred let out a Long loud gobble. You Tell pm Wilfred Reagan said. I agree trill everything you  the Turkey was presented by John Holden right the president of the National Turkey federation and was to be presented to a pelting farm