The Nation - News from Aug. 28, 1989

The jury in the federal tax evasion trial of hotel queen Leona Helmsley deliberated for a second day without reaching a verdict. Two hours into deliberations, they sent out a note requesting documents relating to a Helmsley-controlled partnership that owned three of the Helmsley hotels in Manhattan. The partnership, Realesco Equities Corp., is named in two sets of charges--aiding in the filing of false corporate tax returns and mail fraud--against Helmsley and her two co-defendants, ex-aides Frank Turco and Joseph Licari. The jury also asked for a June, 1985, memo that Turco had forwarded to Licari and on which he had written: “Please deep six after reading.” The document was a progress report on renovations at Helmsley’s Connecticut estate. Helmsley, 69, is charged with evading $1.2 million in federal taxes by charging personal expenses to her businesses.