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Thursday, June 7, 2007
SWAT teams, armored vehicle seen near convicted tax evaders' compound in Plainfield
PLAINFIELD, N.H. (AP) _ Neighbors of convicted tax evaders Ed and Elaine Brown reported police SWAT teams and at least one armored vehicle converging on a field near their home Thursday morning.
Authorities haven't confirmed they are moving in to arrest the fugitives, but local police, the governor's office and the U.S. Attorney's office referred calls to the U.S. Marshal's service, which has been negotiating daily with the Browns since their federal tax evasion conviction in January.
Susan Williams, who lives a mile or so away from the Browns on Center of Town Road, said she saw police officers, SWAT team members, a fire truck, ambulance, helicopter and at least one armored vehicle assembled in a field across from her driveway.
At the Browns' home, the Browns answered a telephone call from The Associated Press by saying: "This is the Lord's House. This is Sister Elaine and Brother Edward."
They said nothing was out of the ordinary at the house.
"It's very quiet. I have no idea. I don't see anything going on," said Brown, before hanging up.
The Browns insist federal income tax laws are invalid and have holed up in their hilltop home on 110 acres in Plainfield, which has a watchtower, concrete walls and the ability to run on wind and solar power. Brown said he has stockpiled food and supplies.
They were convicted in January of scheming to hide $1.9 million of income between 1996 and 2003. They also were convicted of using $215,890 in postal money orders to pay for their residence and for Elaine Brown's dental office. The money orders were broken into increments just below the tax-reporting threshold.
U.S. District Judge Steven McAuliffe sentenced them each to 5¼ years in prison. They skipped the April sentencing hearings, and Ed Brown has said he and his wife will refuse to surrender to authorities.
The couple has described the court as a "fiction" unworthy of their attention and returned government mail unopened. The federal judge who sentenced them in absentia has sent along their notice of appeal to an appellate court in Boston.
