"SERVING ALL OF FLORIDA"
Jury finds Claytons innocent in IRS dispute over bank boxes
By: Jim Leusner
A federal court jury Wednesday found Orange County developers Charles and Malcolm Clayton not guilty of illegally entering three safe deposit boxes that had been seized by the Internal Revenue Service.
The verdict, returned after 10 1/2 hours of deliberation that began Monday afternoon, ended part of a longstanding dispute between the Claytons and the IRS.
"We're just pleased it's all over and with the justice of the decision," a smiling Malcolm Clayton said with his cousin Charles and other family members gathered at his side in the federal courthouse in Orlando.
Their attorney, Russell Troutman, added, "We consider it not only a victory for the Claytons but a victory to the community and the jury system."
Assistant U.S. Attorney John Lawlor declined to comment.
The Claytons, 61-year-old millionaire cousins from Winter Park and Orlando, were indicted in December on charges of conspiring to gain access illegally to three safe deposit boxes at the ComBank of Winter Park in October 1978. The boxes had been seized by the IRS during a dispute over $830,000 in taxes.
The government charged that the Claytons attempted to pass off two of their employees as IRS agents so the cousins could retrieve more than $500,000 in stocks, bonds, other assets and financial documents from the boxes.
U.S. District Judge John Reed threw out the conspiracy charge last week after ruling that the government failed to substantiate the allegation.
The Claytons also were charged with one count each of forceful entry of property seized by the IRS.
The jury deliberated on that charge Monday afternoon, Tuesday and for one hour Wednesday. Jury foreman Ken Jordan's only comment on the jury's deliberations was that "a reasonable doubt" existed among jurors about whether the defendants were guilty.
"I'll just say one thing," Jordan said while walking out of the courthouse. "In our eyes, the government did not eliminate all reasonable doubt."
The verdict disposes of the criminal charges against the cousins that have been pending since they tried to get the boxes Oct. 9, 1978. An appeal on the disputed $830,000 in back taxes, stemming from as early as 1973, is before the U.S. Tax Court in Washington.
In that civil case, the Claytons and the government are arguing over the amount the cousins depreciated on several hotels and office buildings they own near Lee Road and Interstate 4, the value of property they donated to a Maitland church and whether salaries paid to the Claytons by several corporations they owned were reasonable.
The Claytons, who moved from North Florida to Orlando in the late l940s, started as small-time real estate entrepreneurs who eventually built a multimillion-dollar empire. The Claytons have built between 4,000 and 5,000 homes in Central Florida and own vast real estate holdings.
During the weeklong trial, prosecutor Lawlor charged that the Claytons had lied on financial statements submitted to the IRS and had tried to empty the safe deposit boxes before the government learned of the existence of the differing statements.
But Troutman argued that seizure labels placed on the Claytons' boxes were unclear, and he said the cousins just wanted to take an inventory of the boxes' contents to determine if they contained enough assets to allow them to post a bond to cover their tax liabilities.
After the not-guilty verdict was read Wednesday, Charles Clayton grinned while Malcolm fought back tears. Both men then nodded appreciatively at the jury.
The verdict also touched off a round of tears and hugs between the Claytons and two dozen friends and family members in the courtroom and outside in a hallway.
From:
The Orlando Sentinel
Thu., June 24, 1982
Troutman, Williams, Irvin, Green, Helms & Polich, P.A.
311 W. Fairbanks Avenue - Winter Park, Florida 32789 - Phone: (407) 647-2277