I’ll have quite a few posts over the next few days, but something came across the wire tonight that deserves reporting (even in my tired state). The ultimate shoe collector, Imelda Marcos, was acquitted of tax evasion.
Ms. Marcos, the wife of the late Philippine leader Ferdinand Marcos, was charged with evading taxes in 1986, and on two later dates. There was just one problem with that—the Marcoses left the Philippines in 1986 after Ferdinand Marcos ‘ rule ended (they went into exile in Hawaii).
Ms. Marcos’ attorneys also noted that when Mr. Marcos died there were newspaper stories globally and the Philippine’s Internal Revenue Bureau would have to have been deaf, dumb, and blind to have missed the news (these relate to the later two tax charges).
In any case, the judge in Quezon City noted that the prosecution had failed to show criminal intent. Indeed, Ms. Marcos was husbanding her shoe collection in Hawaii at the time.
So in this case, Ms. Marcos gets to wear shoes from her collection rather than prison loafers.