Marion Barry - Image of Impropriety

(Washington, D.C.) Former D.C. Mayor and present Councilman Marion Barry is reportedly doing well after a kidney transplant and is scheduled to be released from Howard University Hospital today.

Although the perennial D.C. politician appears to be recovering from health problems, he continues to have legal problems for not filing tax returns.

After federal prosecutors asked a judge to put Barry in jail for failure to file his 2007 taxes on time, the former mayor said his medical condition distracted him from his taxpayer duties. Barry has been ordered to appear in court April 2 on his repeated delinquency filing his income taxes.

In a motion filed in federal court, prosecutors said the former mayor didn't file his taxes in 2007, violating his probation for previous tax offenses. It was the eighth time in nine years he failed to file on time.

Barry was given three years of probation in 2006 after pleading guilty to misdemeanor charges for failing to file his tax returns from 1999 to 2004.

As I recall, Marion Barry had previous difficulties when he was mayor after being caught on videotape using crack cocaine. After he was released from jail, he was elected to the city council. I suggest that Mr. Barry could easily be voted as the poster boy for "beyond the appearance of impropriety."

By the way, I haven't found any reporting of the Marion Barry story which states that he is a Democrat.