Livingston under house arrest

DENVER — Cooperation with authorities helped former Delta schools superintendent Laddie Livingston avoid federal prison.

Livingston, 67, was sentenced Tuesday to three years of probation, with six months to be served under house arrest, for filing a false income tax return in 2002.

Livingston was also fined $40,000.

“Mr. Livingston was a respected public figure who became a tax cheat and, tragically, must face the consequences,” U.S. Attorney for Colorado Troy Eid said in a news release.

Livingston, a former award-winning educator, retired as Delta’s superintendent in 1998, but continued in that capacity under a service contract until 2004.

The contract allowed Livingston to defer his compensation and have his payments sent to a designated agent. The funds weren’t supposed to be accessed by Livingston, but could only be withdrawn on his behalf by the school board upon his instruction. Livingston was supposed to defer paying income tax on the money until he withdrew it, but, according to the IRS, he started having the compensation sent directly to him and deposited it in his personal account.

That meant the money was no longer deferred income and was therefore subject to taxation, the feds said, also accusing Livingston of directing the school district’s business manager not to file a Form 1099 on his early retirement bonuses.

Investigators came into the picture in 2004, and that’s when Livingston prepared amended tax returns, paying all appropriate taxes, penalties and interest.

The IRS said he filed returns that, overall, failed to report income totaling more than $335,000, with a tax obligation of $133,651.

Charged in March of this year, Livingston pleaded guilty to filing a false income tax return in September.

The typical sentencing range for the offense is up to three years in prison, and under his agreement, Livingston could have received 18 months, but his cooperation and repayment of taxes spared him that fate.

“Intentionally concealing income from the IRS to avoid paying taxes is a crime, whether legally earned or illegally derived, and the job of IRS Criminal Investigation is to investigate these crimes wherever they are identified,” Agent Christopher Sigerson said in the news release. Sigerson is the special agent in charge of IRS Criminal Investigation division for the Denver field office.

Livingston’s attorney could not be reached for comment Tuesday.