by Pat Shannan
MEDIA BYPASS, Dec. 2001 Issue

A sign spotted recently over the door of one IRS office says: 'Seizure Fever -- Catch It!'

Word has it that the IRS agent with the best seizure rate for the week is rewarded with a brief respite and other job "perks." Apparently the pressure to hit his weekly plunder bonus was more than one revenuer could stand, and when he was asked to show the law justifying his actions, he blew a head gasket.

The Oct. 2nd incident occurred when Wiley Davis, an IRS Team Manager from Colorado, became agitated with Las Vegas resident Ken Nicholson during a hearing to discuss an IRS lien against some property owned by Nicholson's friend, Keith Milbourne. Davis had been brought in from Denver specifically for the Milbourne case.

The Las Vegas Tribune first reported the altercation as arising from a tax dispute involving an IRS lien against some property belonging to Ken Nicholson. This was inaccurate. Nicholson had gone along as counsel for his friends, Keith and Shawna Milbourne, and as a witness to the proceedings. It was Milbourne's case that was in dispute. They had also taken along court reporter Beatrice Conner, who caught the whole incident on audio tape.

Nicholson had Power of Attorney to speak for Milbourne. Davis was assisted by a female agent. Throughout the hearing, the two men made it clear that they were not going to take Davis' word for anything and would need actual documentation to prove the IRS' stand. Finally, Nicholson said that they would be willing to pay whatever the IRS claimed Milbourne owed if Davis could:

1) Produce a Notice and Demand for the tax; and

2) Give a Code Section which made Milbourne liable.

Nicholson said, and witnesses as well as the tape recording concur, that Davis did not attempt to produce that evidence but instead became visibly angry, lost his self-control, and attacked Nicholson.

Offense Is The Best Defense

"Out of nowhere," said Nicholson, "he jumped up out of his chair and came around the table, grabbed my chair, and began bouncing it up and down. He shoved it forward and pushed me toward the table. [In the process,] my legs came apart and were straddling the arm of the chair. With three or four quick jerks, he yanked the arm of the chair upward and into my groin. Then he grabbed me and began to physically evict me from the room." Security officers came in and stopped the melee.

Court stenographer Beatrice Conner was shocked speechless when Nicholson was knocked to the floor. "It was totally without provocation," she said. "He (Davis) was so angry and violent that if he had had a gun, he would have pulled it out!"

Keith Milbourne, who witnessed the whole meeting and scuffle, gave more details:

"By the time we called the police there were about ten people in the hallway including other agents, the witnesses, and security guards," Milbourne told us, adding that the other IRS agent who was in the room, Renee Swells, was "surprised and shocked" by Davis' action. Swells was unavailable for comment.

Milbourne and Nicholson had called 911 "and the cops arrived in five minutes all gung-ho and ready to arrest Ken. However, when they heard the tape played back, they all fell silent, not knowing what to do." So the officers did nothing. No arrest was made.

Both men said they tried to report the incident to the U.S. attorney's office, as well as the FBI, but both Justice Department entities declined to take their report. The same proved to be true at the county level with Sheriff Jerry Keller.

"I know that if I would have assaulted the IRS agent, I would be sitting in jail right now," Nicholson said. "But because the IRS agent is the one who assaulted me, Metro [Las Vegas Police] only took a statement and let him go."

Hidden Ball Trick

When the Metro police came out, Nicholson gave a voluntary statement backed-up by his witnesses and the tape recording. He was told that he would have to wait five days before the report would be actually recorded in the police records.

"On the sixth day, I went in and found out that no police report had been made at all. When I demanded that the report be filed and made official, I was told that I had a statute of limitations of five days to ask and demand prosecution from the date of the incident and that now I was too late." In other words, Nicholson was hoodwinked by officialdom.

A spokesman for the Las Vegas Police Department said that investigators informed Nicholson he had to contact the department within five days of the incident if he wanted to initiate action against Davis, since it was "just a misdemeanor battery."

LVMPD officials are sticking to their story that Nicholson had not contacted the department seeking action against Davis. The spokesman also said the department gave all of the information to the IRS Criminal Investigation Division. No announcement has been forthcoming as to whether Davis has been terminated, placed on leave pending an investigation, or is being held for psychiatric observation.

"If Nicholson wants prosecution, he can contact the general investigations division within the department and they can move forward on it," the unnamed spokesman added. However, the frustrations of not seeing any justice in the criminal courts have motivated Nicholson toward a civil action.

Previous Developments The October 2nd meeting was an offshoot stemming from a July 26th situation when IRS auditor Tom Conger got up and walked out after Nicholson and Milbourne attempted to pin him down with the same legal stranglehold. A few weeks later, the IRS arbitrarily placed a $13,000 lien at the county on anything Milbourne owned, without ever sending him notice. Apparently, when the subsequent meeting was booked to discuss this lack of due process, the IRS called in its "bigger gun," Davis, to attempt to handle the situation.

Longtime tax-fighter Irwin Schiff said in an email alert, "The public has got to ask itself, why would an IRS agent get so upset simply because the taxpayer asked to see the law?" Perhaps it was because Davis already knew that he was attempting an illegal collection.

Further investigation turned up Dr. Charles Frentheway in Arizona, who told us it was not the first time Wyley Davis had been forced to face the truth. Last January, Frentheway showed up for an IRS audit at the Phoenix office and met with the same Wyley Davis, who purports to be out of the Denver office.

"I don't know why they fly him all over, unless he is their best intimidator," said Frentheway.

In any case, when the doctor asked Davis some similar questions as did Nicholson later, the agent refused to answer and terminated the audit. Perhaps this had happened one time too often by October, and Davis was emotionally forced to take out his frustrations with violence. Or maybe he suddenly realized that his failure to collect was about to cause the cancellation of a pre-planned vacation to the beach with his family. After all, no seizure, no perks.

Animal Farm

Outraged citizens from all over the country are demanding disciplinary action be taken against Wiley Davis, thanks to the news from the internet. No doubt he will get demerits on his permanent record. He might even lose his job, but don't bet on him ever going to trial on criminal charges. Indeed, had Nicholson been the aggressor, he would be wasting away on bread and water in the Las Vegas dungeon, awaiting execution. But on the "Animal Farm" at which we live, where "All animals are created equal," we have to bear in mind that some of these animals are more equal than others.

Joseph R. Smith, an IRS agent for eighteen years from Las Vegas, testifying before Congress, stated: "I have sat on many a promotion panel where the first question of panel members was 'How many seizures have you made?'"

With this "bottom line" in mind, rather than disciplining an agent of questionable mental stability, maybe the Public Relations Department of the IRS will recommend that they publicize the actions of Wiley Davis, in order to instill more fear in the hearts of the chattel slaves. Just a thirty-second TV commercial would do it. It could open with Mother Theresa as the reluctant taxpayer questioning the auditor. Then in the next scene, Wiley Davis splinters a chair over the old lady's head, and the voice-over says, "Sometimes we are kinder and gentler.  Don't ask stupid questions, just pay up!"

It will work for awhile - until some Mike Tyson-wannabe bites his ears off.

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