Wednesday, January 28, 2004

Businessman shot in botched raid In Wednesday's Gazette: 58 year-old Streamwood man Robert Kennigil was shot four times Tuesday night by federal agents serving an internal revenue service audit at his home office. He was pronounced dead at Mercy Hospital two hours later. Mr. Kennigil was the owner of a mail-order sports clothing company. Treasury spokesman Mark Connell said the agents were following up on an informant's tip that Robert Kennigil had falsified deductions on his tax returns and only fired when they saw Kennigil reach for an eraser. Julie Sechrist, accountant for Kennigil Sportswear angrily denied the charges. "I've been doing Robert's books for 25 years," she said, "and every deduction has been legitimate. He was fanatical about accuracy." And she scoffed at the notion that he was reaching for an eraser. "He does his taxes on the computer. What good's an eraser?" She also questioned the need for agents to handcuff his wife and 10-year-old daughter for almost an hour while they searched the office files. "They were legitimate dependents," she said. Connell expressed sympathy for the family, but defended the agents' actions. "This is certainly a tragedy," he said, "but unfortunately we live in a dangerous world, and IRS agents are put in time-sensitive situations every day from those who would defy the nation's tax laws. This was an unavoidable incident that simply points out the need for stronger laws and stiffer penalties for tax fraud." It's a pretty ridiculous story that I invented, isn't it? Now, take a look at the true stories of Drug War Victims. If it wasn't for the actual tragedies of their deaths, wouldn't those stories be just as ridiculous? Think about it. Do something about it. Note: I'd like to give a big thanks to homunculus. I don't know who you are, but I appreciate the work you've done to help raise awareness of the drug war victims. Everytime you post the link on metafilter, hundreds of new people find out, are rightly outraged, and spread the word further on their own web pages and discussion groups. Thanks again. 10:47:56 PM |  drug policy | Links | permalink | comment []