WASHINGTON, Oct. 5 (UPI) -- Former Washington Mayor Marion Barry is under investigation for failing to file federal income tax returns and pay taxes, The Washington Post reported.
Barry, 69, has not been charged in the IRS and U.S. Attorney's Office investigation of his tax returns and payments dating back to 1998, the newspaper said Wednesday. He and prosecutors were negotiating a deal that could allow him to plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge in exchange for avoiding jail time.
Barry could appear in court within days if a deal is struck, sources told the newspaper.
Barry, who won re-election to a fourth term as mayor in 1994 despite a misdemeanor conviction for smoking crack cocaine, was mayor of Washington until 1999. Between then and 2004, he earned about $250,000 in consulting fees.
Since January, Barry has been a member of the District of Columbia Council -- a post he could retain if convicted of a misdemeanor.
Barry and a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office declined comment.
