IRS Investigating A.C. Schools

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. The Internal Revenue Service subpoenaed records for Atlantic City schools this week as part of a criminal investigation. The two subpoenas received Wednesday seek all vendor records going back to 1996 and the invoices of four attorneys who do work for the district, said Superintendent Fred Nickles.

"I personally am not aware of any wrongdoing," Nickles told The Press of Atlantic City for Saturday's editions.

Nickles said the district will cooperate with the IRS, but plans to ask for a more specific request because the "tremendous amount of material" could be difficult to assemble by the Jan. 3 deadline.

The district's labor lawyer, George Frino, said he would cooperate with the request.

Attorneys Leo Dubler, Joseph Jacobs and Donald Targan could not be reached for comment. Calls by The Associated Press to Targan & Associates were not answered Saturday afternoon.

Targan and the two associates billed the district $1.2 million this year for unsuccessfully defending the board in a lawsuit filed by the contractors who built Atlantic City High School.

Board members were critical of the legal fees, saying the invoices contained little explanation.

Nickles said the investigation could be related to a series of lawsuits filed between school board members.

Board member Daniel Gallagher, however, said he doubted that.

Neither the IRS nor the U.S. Attorney's Office would comment on the probe.

(Copyright 2001 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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Author: 6 - ABC, Action News