Memo to Tea Partiers: You Still Have to Pay Taxes

Dr. Edward Picardi of Sturgis faces five counts of income tax evasion. The IRS alleges that Dr. Picardi has cheated American taxpayers out of $811,000 over thirteen years by moving cash around to overseas accounts. Helping Picardi, says Uncle Sam, was Maryland lawyer Anthony Ira Kritt, who's in court right now for allegedly helping a West Virginia doctor do the same thing.

A possible defense for Dr. Picardi: he was simply acting as any good Tea Partier would, refusing to pay those oppressive taxes. Perhaps Dr. Picardi is where Gordon Howie got the idea. But it seems odd that Dr. Picardi wouldn't pay his taxes; after all, as a long-time employee of the federal government, he surely appreciates the need to pay a decent wage to the men and women serving our country.

This indictment is bad news for Republicans: according to the Center for Responsive Politics, Picardi and his wife and employee Sandra donated $11,200 to Senator John Thune over the past few years. Mrs. Picardi has also given Kristi Noem's House campaign $2000 this year.