Democrat Didn’t Fire Top Staffer–Who Earned $170k–For Tax Evasion Conviction

The chief of staff to Rep. Bennie Thompson spends his days in the halls of Congress and his weekends in jail for tax evasion, after the Mississippi Democrat violated his pledge to fire his wealthy chief if the aide was found guilty of stiffing the treasury of $150,000.

Issac Lanier Avant made $170,000 a year in Congressional pay, yet the court found he didn’t pay any tax returns for seven years. Prosecutors said he was dishonest throughout their investigation, and when he did file tax returns, he lied about donating $50,000 to a religious group and tried to take a “bizarre” tax write-off for rollerblading. Prosecutors asked for a one-year prison term, but Avant was sentenced in January 2017 to a month-long stint in jail followed by a year of weekends in jail.

http://dailycaller.com/2017/10/19/democrat-didnt-fire-top-staffer-who-ea...