JACKSON - Revised tax return still error-filled

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NYPost JACKSON'S 'REVISED' TAX RETURN STILL ERROR-FILLED

By ROD DREHER

April 28, 2001 -- THE amended 1999 tax return from Jesse Jackson's beleaguered Citizenship Education Fund is in.

But if a first look is any indication, the tax-exempt charity will have to file an amendment to the amendment.

How's this for starters: The new return, which The Post obtained from the Illinois attorney general's office, lists a $15,000 donation from the New York City Board of Education.

A scandal, you say? Well, yeah - except the Board of Ed didn't make the donation.

The $15,000 check was logged into CEF's files under the name of "Freda Plesser," a source familiar with the transaction said. Plesser is now a Board of Ed employee.

But at the time the donation was made, in December 1999, she was working for the Securities Industry Association. The SIA made the donation in connection with Jackson's CEF-sponsored Wall Street Project.

It never ends with these CEF morons. They had to submit an amended 1999 return after serious questions were raised about the original, which was missing loads of information that law-abiding groups normally include.

This new return lists a donation from Microsoft, headquartered in "Redwood, California." Unless Bill Gates isn't telling us something, he's still running his business out of Redmond, Wash.

According to a reliable source, one publicity-shy CEO was shocked to hear how much money his firm was listed on the return as having donated. He said it was actually a fraction of the stated amount.

"We're confident that this return is complete and accurate," said Jackson spokesman Lou Colasuonno.

I tried to reach Colasuonno when I sussed out the apparent source of the $15,000 contribution, but had no luck.

Think about it: If you or I were in charge of a charity in the public spotlight, and credible people were calling for an IRS audit of the outfit, we would take extra care to make sure our amended filing was accurate, would we not?

But Jesse Jackson's accountants must be lazy, incompetent, or have reason to believe that they'll never be held accountable to the same tax rules that everybody else in this country has to follow.

What will it take to get the IRS to audit this outfit? How many chances will Jesse be given to get it right? Is there a different law for him?

The amended filing disclosed 40 companies or individuals who donated $5,000 or more to CEF, and had been left off the earlier filing. The new form also reports the salaries of CEF's three highest-paid employees that year.

The trio includes ex-Jackson mistress Karin Stanford, who, according to the amended return, was paid $67,249 for her, er, service to the organization.

The updated list, which was first reported in the Chicago Sun-Times, also features the names of a number of donors who have profited by their association with Jackson.

The Burger King Corp., for example, dropped a cool $50K into Jesse's pocket that year. Jackson angered the Rev. Al Sharpton by standing with Burger King against a black franchisee and Sharpton ally who accused the company of racist business practices.

Sharpton had no comment about the new information, his spokeswoman said. But a source close to the minister was less reticent.

"This speaks for itself," the source fumed. "Jesse sold out black businesspeople for money."

-- Anonymous, April 29, 2001


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