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Accounting News Roundup: Madoff Said His CPA Was ‘Dumb’; SEC Sanctions for FY 13; Tax Burden by County | 12.18.13

Follow the Tea Party on Stadium Financing Issues [Tax Analysts/David Brunori]
The Braves managed to cajole Cobb County, Georgia commissioners into having taxpayers finance over 45% of the stadium, around $300 million. David Brunori puts this in perspective: "[T]he Cobb County schools are facing a $80 million deficit." The Atlanta Tea Party Patriots don't care for this plan and Brunori agrees, "If [The Braves] want a new stadium, they should pay for it themselves." Brunori points out that the Braves are owned by Liberty Media, "which is in turn essentially owned by a guy named John Malone." Malone is a mega billionaire and the largest landowner in the U.S. 

Madoff’s ‘Dumb’ Accountant Remark Won’t Be Heard by Jury [Bloomberg]
Bernie Madoff didn't think too highly of David Friehling, according to recent testimony. "
Madoff’s former finance chief, Frank DiPascali, asked his boss in a conversation about Friehling, 'Have you been paying him off or is he just dumb?' the defense lawyer, Roland Riopelle, said in court without the jury present. Madoff responded that the accountant was dumb, which Riopelle said, shows he and DiPascali were 'moving around other people like pieces on a chess board.' "

SEC sanctions total a record $3.4 billion in FY 2013 [JofA]
The number of sanction actions actually went down from 734 to 686 and the number of 
financial fraud/disclosure sanction actions also dropped, from 79 to 68.  

The US Income Tax Burden, County by County [TaxVox]
There's a map!

Y&R Copywriter in Indonesia Dies After Tweet About Overwork [AdAge]
If I hear about any of you doing this during 2014 busy season, I'll track you done and kill you.

How tight jeans almost ruined America’s money [WaPo]
Here's a sad story of a company that had a long-standing monopoly on providing the paper to print our currency and how they experienced a setback. 

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