[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index][Index by Month]
They caught him...
FYI
Alfred
-- --------
Wednesday, June 16, 2004 · Last updated 3:01 p.m. PT
Wanted millionaire arrested in Germany
By JEFFREY GOLD
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
NEWARK, N.J. -- A fugitive millionaire wanted on tax fraud charges in New
Jersey was arrested at an airport in Germany, federal prosecutors said
Wednesday.
Herbert Axelrod, 76, fled the United States soon after being indicted in
April on charges that he conspired to defraud the Internal Revenue Service
by helping a former executive of his pet-book publishing company hide
$700,000 in a Swiss bank account.
He also has drawn attention for rare musical instruments he valued at $100
million and donated or sold at a discount.
Michael Himmel, a lawyer who has represented Axelrod, said Wednesday that he
had not yet spoken to Axelrod and declined to comment. The U.S. Attorney's
Office in New Jersey said it notified German authorities that it would seek
to have Axelrod sent back to the United States.
Axelrod operated TFH Publications, which specializes in books on animals and
pets, and whose products include the Nylabone line of dog toys.
The tax-fraud charges are unrelated to an FBI review of an $18 million deal
last year in which Axelrod sold the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra 30 rare
string instruments the philanthropist had valued at $50 million.
Authorities reportedly are trying to determine whether Axelrod inflated the
instruments' value to make himself eligible for a large tax write-off, and
are said to be looking into his 1998 donation of four Stradivarius musical
instruments - also valued at $50 million by Axelrod - to the Smithsonian
Institution.
------------------
To unsubscribe from this list, please send mail to majordomo@thekrib.com
with "Unsubscribe gsas-member" in the body of the message. Archives of
this list can be found at http://lists.thekrib.com/gsas-member/