Ex-Football Player Jailed for Punching His Accountant

From WebCPA.com:

Florida Circuit Court Judge John Brown sentenced the 57-year-old former NFL player to 11 months and 29 days in jail on Monday and ordered him to attend anger management classes, according to the Northwest Florida Daily News.

Bruner was found guilty of felony battery in August, but was acquitted of retaliating against a witness. His accountant, Wayne Montgomery, accused him of striking him several times during a meeting at Bruner’s home in July of last year. Bruner was upset that Montgomery hadn’t been able to do more to help him get a larger refund from the IRS, and he accused Montgomery of working for the accounting firm Carr, Riggs and Ingram, which Bruner had sued. Bruner is the former owner of an amusement attraction called Big Kahuna’s water park.

Montgomery testified that Bruner first waved a fake gun and yelled at another man who was present at the meeting. After the other man walked out of the room, Bruner took out his aggressions on his CPA, punching him in the eye, pushing him face down onto a recliner, and then punching him repeatedly in the head, neck and back.

Montgomery said that Bruner later called him in January at 4:38 in the morning and threatened him, “Battery, battery, battery. You just think battery. That was not battery. You ain’t seen battery. Next whipping I’m giving you real battery. I’m going to destroy you and your property in Alabama and Tennessee.”

New Orleans Saints Dispute IRS Claims

As a result of a report from Forbes magazine accusing the New Orleans Saints of avoiding income taxes on an $8.5 million payment from the state of Louisiana, the team has asserted in tax court that they are not guilty of tax avoidance. According to USA Today, the team’s lawyers claimed the payment was nontaxable "working capital" and was part of 10 years of "inducement payments" given to the team.

Forbes reported that the lawsuit claimed the money was intended to help the team "acquire additional and higher-priced player contacts" to make the team "more competitive in the NFL."

The Saints reached a long-term deal to remain in the Superdome in 2009.

Continue reading at USA Today.com…

Host broadcasters to 'filter' noise

From ESPN.com:

Are the vuvuzelas at the World Cup too loud? Some broadcasters think so and want to filter them out. BBC received 545 complaints from viewers as of Tuesday morning, so they are considering giving viewers the option of muting ambient noise while maintaining game commentary through its "red button" digital service. Viewers would push a red button on their remote controls to receive the quieter broadcast on a separate listening channel.

According to Wikepedia.com, the vuvuzela, sometimes called a "lepatata" (its Tswana name) or a stadium horn, is a blowing horn up to approximately 3 ft 3 inch in length. It is commonly blown by fans at football (soccer) matches in South Africa. The vuvuzelas are something uniquely African, and FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) President Sepp Blatter said he is not about to ban the music traditions of fans in their own country.

Several players said the clamor of the horns is having an impact on the field. Netherlands striker Robin van Persie actually got out of a second yellow card -- and a ban from the next game -- by blaming the vuvuzelas for failing to hear an offsides whistle.

Argentina striker Carlos Tevez said the din of vuvuzelas makes it hard for players to communicate with each other on the field. "Those sirens or trumpets -- I don't know what they are -- make it very difficult to speak on the field," Tevez said after Argentina's training session Tuesday at the University of Pretoria. "You have to shout and sometimes you run out of breath, you get a bit more tired. They are extremely bothersome."

But van Persie said he doesn't want to see vuvuzelas banned. "I think we have to respect it, because we are in South Africa, and we need to respect where we are," he said. "This is their tradition. This belongs to them."

So, tell me, what do you think? Sould the vuvuzela be banned at the World Cup games? Why or why not? You can find me on Facebook or Twitter!

IRS Hits Cardinals' Antrel Rolle With $2.2 Million Bill

Antrel Rolle of the Arizona Cardinals is in hot water with the IRS, after he was recently hit with a $2.2 million tax bill for not reporting income during his first two years in pro-football. Although Rolle cites he has filed a lawsuit with the IRS claiming they violated his rights, he does not out rightly deny all of the claims they have made against him.

According to Forbes.com, the claims are contained in a previously unreported lawsuit Rolle filed in U.S. Tax Court against the agency. His petition asserts the IRS violated the Taxpayer Bill of Rights, denied him due process and failed to treat him in a "fair, professional and courteous manner." He complains the agency refused to transfer his tax audit from Sacramento to Los Angeles where his advisors and records were located and would not accept proffered documentation.

However, Rolle does not specifically dispute the IRS audit findings, which he attached to his pleading. The IRS findings state that it was discrepancies and inconsistencies in Rolle's own filings that accounted for most of the bill. Cited points included nonexistent or unlikely addresses, huge deductions claimed by Rolle for a personally run executive business and hard-to-locate churches listed as recipients of big cash gifts, with the amounts and descriptions of these donations changing.

Hiram M. Martin, the lawyer for Rolle in the tax case, declined comment Tuesday on specifics. Calling the matter "confidential," he said it was "totally inappropriate" for Forbes to have obtained his pleading. "I am outraged," he said. By law, Tax Court lawsuits are public record at the clerk's office in Washington, D.C.

Rolle is a new twist on what has become an epidemic of legal troubles plaguing NFL players. His case is a civil tax matter, and Rolle is the plaintiff. Recently New Orleans Saints defensive end Bobby McCray and Atlanta Falcons receiver Eric Weems were arrested for driving while under the influence, while Green Bay Packers defensive tackle Johnny Jolly and Falcons lineman Jonathan Babineaux were charged with drug offenses. None has admitted guilt. Player legal problems are so widespread that there is even a blog devoted to NFL-related crimes.