Tax Protester Serving Prison Term

Thu., May 4, 2000

By Bill Morlin billm@spokesman.com

A tax protester convicted of helping 23 Eastern Washington taxpayers avoid paying $1.2 million in federal taxes is serving an 18-month federal prison term.

Randall L. Glessner, a 46-year-old former certified public accountant, also must pay $78,781 in restitution to the U.S. government.

He will be on supervised release for one year after his release from prison.

Glessner was found guilty by a jury in September of 22 counts of aiding and abetting preparation of false income tax returns.

He also was convicted of one count of corrupt interference with the administration of the Internal Revenue Service law.

Glessner acted as his own attorney and told the jury he is not a U.S. citizen.

He described himself as the “mission chief for the Kingdom of Yahweh, commonwealth of Yishra-El for Washington Territory.”

He asked the jurors if they personally had any claims against him. When they said they didn’t, Glessner asked the judge to dismiss the case.

But Whaley declined to do that, and Glessner was convicted of charges contained in an April 1999 indictment.

Four months after his conviction, Glessner asked the judge to appoint an attorney to represent him at taxpayers’ expense.

Attorney Les Weatherhead was appointed to represent Glessner. A sentencing date was postponed several times while the defense attorney reviewed a transcript of the trial.

At a sentencing hearing April 14, Weatherhead asked the judge to set aside the jury verdict, but Whaley rejected that request.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert “Bud” Ellis suggested that Glessner should be sentenced to prison within the guideline range of 33 to 41 months.

Weatherhead argued that Glessner should be immediately placed on probation and given credit for the eight months in jail he served in 1999 after his arrest.

The defense attorney said Glessner should be given a lighter sentence because of his diminished mental capacity precipitating his anti-government views.

The prosecutor said he agreed that Glessner has mental problems connected with his views of the government.

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