Bond set for Bixby man in tax case

March 5th, 2010 | by admin |

Prosecutors will appeal the judge’s decision.

A federal magistrate decided Thursday that an alleged bookie should be allowed to post bond in his tax-evasion case, even though the man reportedly fled to Costa Rica and spent more than three years there after a search warrant was served at his Bixby home.

David Michael Nigh, 41, was charged in Tulsa on April 8, 2008, with five counts of filing false federal returns for the 2001 through 2005 income tax years.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Trent Shores said the prosecution will appeal U.S. Magistrate Frank McCarthy’s decision. That means Nigh will remain in custody at least until U.S. District Judge James Payne can review the issue.

Internal Revenue Service Special Agent Jason White testified that he started investigating Nigh in December 2005 after allegations surfaced that he was involved in a “bookmaking” business.

White testified that a search warrant was executed at Nigh’s home in Bixby in May 2006. He said Nigh was told then that agents were looking into whether he was involved in bookmaking — taking bets on sporting events — or had filed false tax returns.

Testimony during Thursday’s hearing suggested that Nigh decided to head for Costa Rica in December 2006 because of the investigation.

Nigh’s attorney, Martin Hart, told the court that his client made a “bad decision” to go to Costa Rica.

According to testimony Thursday, Nigh divorced his wife and remarried while in Costa Rica, had his two juvenile daughters visit him there more than once and had his elderly more than once and father move to the country to live with him.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Leitch told the court that getting a suspect extradited from Costa Rica is difficult and becomes even harder when the person has married a Costa Rican citizen.

Shores said Nigh was arrested Feb. 12 in Cancun, Mexico, where Nigh had gone on vacation. Nigh appeared in federal court in Houston on Feb. 16, records show.

McCarthy said conditions could be set to ensure that Nigh would show up for future court dates in Tulsa.

The magistrate said he was “particularly impressed” by testimony from two ex-wives of Nigh’s as well as a brother of the defendant, who all said Nigh was ready to face the charges.

Hart said Nigh intends to plead guilty once the amount of tax loss can be determined. Some prison time appears likely, he said.

The bond conditions McCarthy outlined include electronic monitoring, frequent visits with probation officers and strict monitoring of Nigh’s finances. Hart surrendered Nigh’s passport to the court Thursday.

The indictment says Nigh’s actual income ranged from $59,803 to $246,952 during the years in question. Evidence introduced during Thursday’s hearing suggested that the Bixby house he had lived in was valued between $600,000 and $800,000.

White testified that Nigh had about $250,000 wired to him while he lived in Costa Rica. Before that, Nigh was making about $30,000 a month through a combination of “casino hosting” and an automobile business, White testified.

Claims are circulating on the Internet that Nigh has been connected to an online sports-betting operation that, according to its Web site, “operates legally in the beautiful country of Costa Rica.”

No testimony about that was presented during the hearing, and neither Hart, Leitch nor Shores would discuss the topic outside the courtroom.