BY BEN L. KAUFMAN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
A father and two sons -- who are charged with tax fraud but do not recognize federal laws under which they are being prosecuted -- go on trial Jan. 5.
U.S. District Judge Herman J. Weber set the date on Thursday. By then, he added, he would rule on the defendants' identical motions to dismiss their indictments.
Edgar Francis Bradley, 66, of Dawson Road in Madeira; Edgar F. Bradley II, 40, of Ida Street in Mount Adams; and Roy Claudius Bradley, 35, of Crescendo Court in Montgomery, will be tried together.
They are charged with failing to file federal tax returns and conspiring to defraud the government through an elaborate web of trusts meant to hide their income and assets.
Grand jurors said the conspiracy lasted more than 10 years, during which time all three men were involved in the family's Edgar F. Bradley Insurance Agency and - or Blue Tee and Associates.
Thursday, all three asked the judge to dismiss the indictments for various reasons, among them, "There is no evidence against us."
Justice Department prosecutor Rita Genetti Calvin responded that there was no flaw in the indictments and the Bradleys' other complaints were groundless.
As he had before, Judge Weber pleaded with the Bradleys to accept court-appointed attorneys and to stop representing themselves. All three repeated their refusal even to consult the attorneys, who sat nearby on standby.
The three were indicted on April 15. The past six months have been devoted, in large part, to determining whether the elder Mr. Bradley was competent to stand trial.
It was an issue raised by Ms. Calvin and fellow prosecutor Thomas G. Voracek after Mr. Bradley said there was much of the case he could not understand.
Relying on a report from Mr. Bradley's psychologist, the judge said Mr. Bradley was competent and scheduled Thursday's hearing on motions to dismiss the indictments.
The elder Mr. Bradley again spoke first and his sons echoed his arguments virtually verbatim.
If convicted, all three face the possibility of prison. Meanwhile, they are free on bond.
