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Former D.C. Mayor Marion Barry says the eighth time he failed to file his taxes in nine years was because he was distracted by a medical condition.
WASHINGTON -- After a Monday full of no comments and "I don't know what they're talking about," D.C. Councilmember Marion Barry said Tuesday that a medical condition distracted him from filing his taxes.
Barry is undergoing four-hour dialysis sessions three times a week and needs a transplant, WUSA reported. That distracted him from filing, according to the "Mayor for Life."
NBC4 confirmed Tuesday night that Barry is preparing to undergo surgery to receive a kidney transplant at Howard University Hospital.
The donor is a longtime Barry friend who volunteered the kidney. A source told NBC4's Tom Sherwood that after tests, the woman's kidney "is almost a perfect match."
Barry privately told NBC4 about his health concerns several months ago, but asked for privacy until the operation was planned. Sources said Barry is now waiting for his doctors to schedule the imminent surgery.
Federal prosecutors asked a judge to send Barry to jail. In a motion filed Monday in federal court, prosecutors said the former mayor didn't file his taxes in 2007, violating his probation for previous tax offenses.
"I haven't seen any papers, I haven't seen where they've been filed," Barry told WRC Monday night. "My lawyers and I talk; they have not received anything, so I don't know what they're talking about."
NBC4 has learned that lawyers for Barry are expected to file a response to the prosecutors as early as this week. Sources also said the lawyers will file Barry's delinquent 2007 return as early as Wednesday and will file his current 2008 return by next week.
Lawyers close to the case say they believe it is unlikely Barry would be sentenced to significant jail time -- if any -- if the papers are filed and he undergoes surgery.
Barry was given three years of probation in 2006 after pleading guilty to misdemeanor charges for failing to file his tax returns from 1999 to 2004.
Two years ago, however, prosecutors sought to have that probation revoked after Barry failed to file his 2005 taxes on time. A judge refused, saying prosecutors didn't prove Barry willfully or intentionally failed to file on time.
Barry wasn't thinking about the possibility of jail since the judge threw out the request last time, according to DCist.
