The Shuster Project
Tobacco Industry Fraud & False Claims Issues
Click HERE To Read Our Letter Sent to Senator Kerry's Presidential Campaign
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The Shuster Project Tobacco Industry Fraud & False Claims Issues
Click HERE To Read Our Letter Sent to Senator Kerry's Presidential Campaign
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RESPONSE TO CALVIN MELLOR
To: CT Governor
Rowland, Carolyn Underwood and Calvin Mellor From: Robert X.
Shuster
Executive Director
The Shuster Project-Tobacco Industry Fraud & False Claims Issues
C/o
177 Andrew Avenue
Naugatuck, CT 06770-4359 Re: Response to 1/08/2003 Letter from Calvin Mellor regarding
“The Shuster Project’s” proposal to recover $300+ Million Dollars in defrauded CT State Income Tax revenues and defrauded CT State Sales Tax revenues resulting from numerous tobacco industry fraud & false claims activities/crimes in most retail outlets in CT, including those that sell cigarettes and tobacco products at “State Minimum” prices, as these activities/crimes on the part of the tobacco industry continue,
unabated, to this day. Date: 1/29/2003 Dear Governor
Rowland, Ms. Underwood and Mr. Mellor, Although the letter
from Calvin Mellor was rife with inaccuracies (such as: “We cannot enter into, or
authorize, any joint investigation or partnership with “The Shuster Project.”
DRS cannot offer any financial reward for information, even if it proves to be of great
value...”) and insulting innuendos (such as: “The Department cannot support the
legislation you have described, or any legislation to your benefit...”), we, at
"The Shuster Project," felt it was important to respond to it. As for the
inaccuracies, in correspondence to Governor Rowland, AG Blumenthal, all CT State
Rep’s and CT State Senators, since May of 1999, and, most recently, to Gene Gavin, I
have often specifically referenced the legislation that I initiated and wrote, in
consultation and corroboration with a prestigious law firm well known to the CT Judiciary
Committee, specifically HB6942, which expressly allows for any CT State Political
Subdivision, which should include the Department of Revenue Services, to enter into a Qui
Tam action in partnership with the specific “informant,” which would be Robert
X. Shuster. HB6942 was written
to closely mirror federal Qui Tam statutes, which expressly allows for federal
“political subdivisions,” including the IRS, to also enter into a Qui Tam action
which, for reasons only they know, the IRS continues to refuse to do, as we have point by
point exposed their stated “reasons” for not proceeding with a Qui Tam action
against the tobacco companies for what they are … falsehoods and object lies. It bears repeating,
and make no mistake about this, that the three stated “reasons” why the IRS is
choosing not to proceed with a Qui Tam action, together with “The Shuster
Project’s” Executive Director, against the tobacco companies have been, point by
point, proven to be absolute falsehoods and are “reasons” that have no basis in
fact or truth whatsoever. In actuality, the
problem with the IRS not doing the correct and proper thing in proceeding with a Qui Tam
action, as analyzed by a former prosecuting attorney for the IRS, itself, is believed to
be simply a staffing problem/shortage and their not being willing or able to commit
personnel to this huge fraud scheme, so rather than just tackle the staffing problem they
are choosing to “ignore” these crimes in the hope that their ineptness
won’t be “found out,” as well. As for the
insulting innuendos in this 1/8/2003 letter, “The Shuster Project” seeks no
“benefit” from working with the Department of Revenue Services, via any Qui Tam
action(s) to both recover in excess of $300+ Million Dollars in combined, defrauded CT
State Income Tax revenues and defrauded CT State Sales Tax revenues and in our seeking to
stop, once and for all, the continuation of these tobacco industry fraud and false claims
activities/crimes and the loopholes in CT State legislation(s) that inadvertently seems to
allow these crimes to occur to begin with; the law was written that way to deliberately
reward the informing party for the entirety of it’s involvement and for the
“value” of the information that clearly yields a far greater “profit”
to either the State or Federal government involved in the Qui Tam action, itself. It was the IRS,
itself, that didn’t just recommend but instructed and strongly desired “The
Shuster Project” to file what turned out to be multiple (seven, I believe it was)
Form 211’s, which are, in actuality, the federal government’s “Qui
Tam” filings of a “Whistleblower” status, during which proceedings the IRS
was telling us that this was the most potent way by which to recover the Federal Income
Tax revenues that have been defrauded by the tobacco companies going back well over four
decades and exceeding well over $50+ Million Dollars, alone, and which also continues
unabated, to this very day, as a result of the refusal of the IRS to engage the tobacco
companies for these crimes, the proceedings of which they had originally led us to believe
they were going to engage against the tobacco companies. In fact, it was the
Special Agent of the IRS that eagerly offered the Executive Director of “The Shuster
Project” 30% of all of the recovered sums of the defrauded US Federal Income Tax
revenues, was thanking us for the “detail” of our presentation to him, as he
stated several times how angry he was that the tobacco industry fraud and false claims
crimes involved in that instance had taken place so often and for so long right under
their nose’s and he reluctantly acknowledged that without the “hidden”
details and specific, unknown-to-the-IRS tobacco industry documents that we had provided
to him and the “formula/calculations” as to the massive regularity of how often
these crimes were being perpetrated across the country by so many tobacco companies, not
only would the IRS have never found out about these crimes, but that they would continue,
unabated. Guess what …
because of the IRS’ continued ineptness and blatant non-action against the tobacco
companies, those same tobacco industry fraud and false claims crimes continue unabated to
this very day … and why? … ask the IRS, for only they know why they continue to
do nothing about the tobacco industry fraud and false claims crimes that involves immense
sums resulting from unrecovered federal income tax evasion revenues that not only goes
back well over four decades, now, but that continues, unabated, to this very day! I know because I
regularly check with my sources within the tobacco industry. As I have also
mentioned in recent correspondence addressed to all of the parties mentioned above …
we have had tens of thousands of grammar school students, high school students, college
and university students, along with their teachers and parents, and we average
approximately 1,200+ “new” student visitors and growing each month, now, being
taught about tobacco industry fraud and false claims activities from the ever-growing
content of our Award-winning web site at http://www.rxshuster.org/. This includes all
of the elected and appointed officials at the state and federal level that continue to
choose to do nothing about these crimes, yet who also attempt to put out falsehoods and
lies as to why they continue to avoid engaging the tobacco companies in regard to the
fraud and false claims activities and crimes involved, despite even the new legislation
we’ve initiated specifically allowing them to recover these enormous sums of
defrauded tax revenues that are involved, with the fraud and false claims crimes even
permeating down to the municipal level. After careful, considerate and lengthy consultations with my senior staff, we have had to conclude that the author of the letter dated 1/8/2003 has either just not done enough research into how potent HB6942 is in allowing CT to enter into a Qui Tam action against the tobacco companies, and which also represents the most structured, organized, promising and overwhelming set of actions that can quickly recover the $300+ Million Dollars in outstanding, combined defrauded CT State Income Tax revenues and defrauded CT State Sales Tax revenues and by doing even just that shall also stop and finally prevent, once and for all, these tobacco industry fraud and false claims activities/crimes from continuing, as they continue to be perpetrated still now, completely unabated. Or, for reasons known only to Calvin and the others this correspondence is being sent to, they are simply unwilling to pursue a Qui Tam action against the tobacco companies and as a result of that decision, the multitude of tobacco industry fraud and false claims crimes will merely continue to occur and the enormous sums of defrauded CT State Tax revenues merely continues to grow larger and larger, increasing the CT State budget deficit even higher and higher. As “The Shuster Project” has indicated and illustrated in our web site, a set of potent CT State Qui Tam actions against the tobacco companies will in no way violate the “Master Agreement” stipulated within the multi-state “tobacco settlement” arrived at several years ago, so that “concern” certainly can be removed from the equation, as well. The piecemeal
approach Calvin suggests is simply ridiculous, will not work and does absolutely nothing
to either address the recovery of this enormous sum of defrauded CT State Tax revenues or
to specifically address these tobacco industry fraud and false claims crimes nor will
Calvin’s “suggestions” shut these crimes down, as they must be. “The Shuster
Project” will continue to successfully move forward in our work in teaching both the
student populations and the general public here in CT, including all of those visitors in
all of the other States that access our web site, in regard to their studies of tobacco
industry fraud and false claims crimes/issues and to also continue in our forward
direction towards getting our first book published both in regard to that work and in
reference(s) to our Award-winning web site content. I have no doubts,
whatsoever, that our continuing work will involve further correspondence to both Governor
Rowland and the Department of Revenue Services, the CT Attorney General and the AG’s
of other States, legislators, any “new” recipients as the need arises and, of
course, our Press Releases to the general public. As “The
Shuster Project” has stated many, many times to all of the above stated individuals
and many others, should there be a genuine, sincere and serious interest in recovering the
$300+ Million Dollars in the combined, defrauded CT State Income Tax revenues and the
defrauded CT State Sales Tax revenues, which is sorely needed in view of the current
budget deficit crisis to prevent CT State worker layoffs, the cutbacks to the aid to
CT’s cities and towns for both State and local Education programs and Municipal
programs, including cuts to the elderly and the poor, our contact information is always
provided at the end of our correspondence. Any request(s) for
a meeting that may be desired with the Executive Director of “The Shuster
Project” that would result in a serious plan to initiate potent CT State Qui Tam
actions against tobacco industry fraud and false claims activities/crimes would, of
course, be immediately and positively accepted, as that approach holds the best organized,
structured and strongest probability of immediate success in swiftly recovering the $300+
Million Dollars in combined, defrauded CT State Income Tax revenues and CT State Sales Tax
revenues. And contrary to
what was stated in the letter sent to us, of 1/8/2003, we have never stated nor have we
ever asked nor had any interest whatsoever to “take private legal action on behalf of
DRS or the State of CT.” Sincerely, RXShuster Executive Director The Shuster Project
- Tobacco Industry Fraud & False Claims Issues C/o 177 Andrew Avenue Naugatuck, CT 06770-4359 Telephone:
1-(203)-723-1690 Fax:
1-(801)-705-3078 Toll Free Voice
Mail: 1-(877)-547-1908 Email: RShus177@aol.com Join my "Save
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