Is It Contageous?

I always admire clever lawyering and tax evaders always seem to be good for some new legal twist. How about a top aide to the governor of New York, who claims his failure to pay income taxes for five years was due to him having "late filing syndrome." No kidding:

The lawyer, Richard S. Kestenbaum, said that he believed that the aide, Charles J. O’Byrne, despite an annual income of about $100,000 and an Ivy League education, could not bring himself to undertake the task of filling out his tax forms every year. Mr. O’Byrne and his doctor have described him as clinically depressed during that period.

“Most times, with professionals, these are very high-functioning people who otherwise complete all the other ordinary tasks of their life,” Mr. Kestenbaum said during a news conference in Manhattan.

The AMA doesn't recognized such a diagnosis, not surprisingly. There might be something to the depression contributing to his non-filing, but I'd want to see a lot more evidence of other "ordinary tasks" he skipped on a regular basis.

But hey, who knows what a court might do with this syndrome? If you'll excuse me, I think I'm coming down with something . . .