THERE ARE TWO GUNS IN THE ROOM!!!

Today, since it's Friday, I thought that I would end the week with a fun article. An article like I am sure that no one else on Facebook has posted before. You see, I was put in a lot of unique situations over my professional career either as a practicing CPA or Realtor, or University Professor. This is one of my more memorable moments...

I had to go to Chattanooga, Tennessee on business for a week a good number of years ago. Now, you have to remember that I am a nice Jewish boy from New York who really has never lost his New York accent. I have also never spent any real-time in the South of our country. I also have a last name, LEVINE, that puts a label on my forehead that says “JEWISH”. I was checking out a company that wanted to go public and one of my dear friends takes companies public and he got the assignment for me.

The company had a Jewish attorney. I am pretty sure that he was the only other Jewish person in the city and he loved to flaunt his success all around town so he drove a Rolls Royce. The company had a financial audit prepared by a local accountant. The attorney, the other accountant, and I ended up in a conference room as the attorney, a very sharp man, asked the local account various questions. One of the questions was where the accountant got the value of a certain asset. What accountants are supposed to do in a financial audit is to get independent verification of the ownership and values of the assets on the Balance Sheet.

The local accountant answered the question by telling the attorney that the owner of the company gave him the description of the asset and the value. Now, you cannot do this. Remember, I just said independent verification of the ownership of the asset and the value of the asset. So, the attorney and I just looked at each other and shook our heads and the attorney went on with his questions. The rest of the questions didn’t matter, the attorney just wanted to document what the accountant was telling him. Oh, by the way, the value of this particular asset was $1,000,000!!!

When I got back to Los Angeles it was the weekend and I went to my office on Monday. Monday was some holiday and I saw that I had a message and two business cards waiting for me. The cards were from a Secret Service agent and an Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division person. The message read to call them. So, I called on this holiday and the IRS did not answer the phone but the Secret Service had voicemail which I thought was classy. So, I called on Tuesday morning and spoke to the Secret Service agent and they came over to my office.

I thought that their visit had something to do with my visit to Tennessee because there were some questionable transactions that I discovered on my trip there. You never know when there might be listening devices in the room or in an office if there is an ongoing investigation.

Upon their arrival, I asked for identification and then we went into my office. They were very pleasant and even commented what a nice view I had out the window. I then told them that they were not my usual visitors and what did they want? They asked a question about a tax return I signed that my then-partner prepared and I signed it because he was out sick and the client came up to pick up his tax return. I told them that I knew nothing about the details of the tax return.

They were really nice guys and the Secret Service agent even said to me that the next time I go to Washington D.C. I should look him up and he will get me on some special tours. I really appreciated that. I then said that there was one thing that was bothering me. There were two guns in my office. The Secret Service always carries guns as does the Criminal Investigation Division of the Internal Revenue Service. The Secret Service Agent said that it was a good thing that I didn’t say that there were three guns. He had a sense of humor which I appreciated.

The moral of the story is that you never know what to expect. Keep your composure and keep calm and everything will be alright as long as you haven’t done anything wrong.

I was not the “normal” CPA as I am not the “normal” Commercial Realtor or Real Estate Developer. Things like this and the things that I have included in my other articles do not happen in everyday life and they normally do not happen to CPAs. But, they are fun experiences and you should know about what makes me who I am today and what I can do for you that the other commercial realtors will not do because they do not have my background, they did not grow up in New York, they did not attend the university I attend on a full scholarship and they do not have the “chutzpah” I have, look that word up on your smartphone.

My name is PAUL LEVINE and I am a Commercial Realtor and Real Estate Developer and we build self-storage facilities and multifamily housing all over the United States for our clients and we get them incredible income tax benefits. I also help investors and realtors throughout the United States and Canada with commercial transactions if they need my expert help. I can be reached at (818) 298 – 4000 after 10 AM Pacific Time 7 days a week or at [email protected] or at [email protected]. I was a practicing CPA for over fifty years before getting into real estate and I was an Associate Professor of Accounting for six and a half years at the California State University – Los Angeles.