A former tax office employee has been offered one day of immunity to tell prosecutors what she knows about the largest corruption scandal in D.C. history.
Diane Gustus is facing up to 100 years in prison on charges that she helped co-worker Harriette Walters siphon off tens ofmillions of dollars through a series of phony tax refunds and dummy companies.
But authorities have given her limited immunity for a meeting this week in the hope that she can help unravel the conspiracy and help the government track down the stolen money, sources with intimate knowledge of the case told The Examiner.
Full immunity can only be granted by written authorization from the top level of the Department of Justice, but prosecutors routinely hand out “use immunity” in white-collar conspiracy and fraud cases. It can be the first step toward a plea deal. The idea behind such an arrangement is that a defendant tells authorities everything he or she knows on the condition that none of the information is used to prosecute him or her.
Prosecutors, with a touch of cynicism, refer to such temporary immunity deals as “queen for the day” agreements. The top lawyers for the U.S. attorney’s offices in D.C. and Maryland involved in the scam case will attend, along with Gustus and her lawyer.
Federal authorities have accused Walters of being the mastermind of the scheme, which they say cost the public many millions of dollars and lasted for years. Gustus’ lawyer, A. Scott Bolden, has said publicly that the evidence against his client is thin and that, at worst, she is only guilty of not carefully checking tax documents Walters asked her to sign.
He could not be reached for comment Sunday.
Authorities have said in court they are worried about recovering the money for the District. Walters confessed to the crime but has not cooperated in efforts to get the money back, court documents state. Gustus is the only defendant in the conspiracy case who isn’t a relative of Walters, according to charging documents.
Court documents show that while Walters and her relatives surrounded themselves with extravagant goods, a search of Gustus’ home uncovered few luxury items.
Gustus has claimed publicly that she is innocent of wrongdoing and has asked the finance office to reinstate her on her job. She was only a few months shy of retirement when she was arrested.
Got a tip on the tax scandal? Call Bill Myers at 202-459-4956 or e-mail [email protected].
