American Tax Officer

David was momentarily taken aback upon hearing this, but he quickly came to terms with the situation.

His role was no longer limited to that of the Director of the Los Angeles West Suburb Branch; as the chosen one of the "Deification Project," he was now also the face of the IRS.

This case involving the Rodrigozki Group was his first assignment since taking office; if handled well, it would certainly bring prestige to the IRS. Conversely, failure would damage the Agency's image. Therefore, it was only natural for the Washington D.C. Headquarters to place great importance on this case.

In the following time, David and Nicola went over some details of the case until 9.50 a.m., when David left the room and headed toward another courtroom on the same floor.

By the time he arrived at the courtroom, the gallery was already packed with people from city hall, the city council, and some invited celebrities from Los Angeles.

And as Nicola had mentioned, because the Headquarters wanted to watch in real-time, the cameras for live broadcasting had been set up.

Washington D.C. Headquarters.

Obadiah, Welton Heng, Donald, and other high-level IRS officials had gathered in a conference room, watching the live feed of the courtroom from Los Angeles.

It was evident that they were anxious about David's first case in office, especially considering its potentially far-reaching implications.

Under their intent gaze, the clock struck 10 a.m.

"All rise."

With Nicola, robed as a judge, making her way through the aisle, everyone in the room stood up in unison.

Once Nicola took her seat at the bench, the audience followed suit and sat down together.

"The trial of the Rodrigozki drug trafficking group's members will now commence. Bring in the defendants!"

With that said, officers from the Western Suburb Branch brought in Marcellus, Valenky, and the others.

As they were escorted in, their gazes immediately swept across the room. Upon spotting David seated in the gallery below, one of the Bear Countrymen shouted, "Director David, there's no need for this. If you leave us be, we will contribute to the IRS every month; it's more beneficial than locking us up."

Down below, David remained unmoved by these words.

The group of Bear Countrymen began to despair.

After they were led to the defendant's dock, Nicola spoke up, "Marcellus, Valenky, Abram... you are now charged with tax evasion, involving a substantial amount of money. Do you have anything to say?"

Marcellus and the others remained silent, while their hastily appointed lawyer stood up, raised his hand and said, "Your Honor, since the IRS is accusing my clients of tax evasion, I would like to see concrete evidence to prove it!"

Nicola looked down at David and asked, "Director David, the case was investigated by your Western Suburb Branch. Please present the evidence."

David nodded, gave Simmons, who was sitting beside him, a look. Simmons immediately stood up and handed over the prepared document bags to the courtroom staff.

The court staff then delivered these files to Nicola.

After checking each file for about seven or eight minutes, Nicola showed a sense of relief in her expression before addressing the defense attorney, "Defense lawyer, I have here your clients' financial account information, detailed financial statements, and witness testimonies."

"Your Honor, I'd like to review those."
Enjoy new tales from empire

Nicola instantly passed the documents to the court staff, who, in turn, handed them to the defense lawyer. After thoroughly reviewing the information, the lawyer's face grew somber, and he approached Marcellus and the others with the documents, asking them to confirm the details.

As Marcellus and the rest looked over their various accounts and transactions detailed in the files, any sliver of hope they might have had instantly collapsed, their complexions turned as grim as if they'd just received the worst news.

Washington D.C. Headquarters.

While the senior officials couldn't see the contents of the documents, the expressions of the defense lawyer and the defendants like Marcellus were telling enough.

One of David's backers couldn't help but declare with satisfaction, "I told you so. David wouldn't have proceeded to trial today if he wasn't confident. How could he be acting rashly?"

Although the other supporters did not voice their relief, they felt as if a weight had been lifted from their shoulders. On the other hand, individuals like Welton Heng Hanrahan appeared rather subdued.

In the courtroom.

Observing the defense lawyer and the defendants appearing deflated, Nicola continued, "Defendants and defense lawyer, are you choosing not to contest these documents?"

The defense lawyer paused before replying, "Your Honor, some of the accounts and funds in these documents indeed belong to my clients, but others do not. We must differentiate between these."

He knew that with such detailed records, the accusation of tax evasion was inescapable.

What he could do now was merely to mitigate the charges as much as possible in hopes of lighter sentences.

To his professional eye, many accounts were managed through third parties and held by others, offering a faint point of contention.

"Very well, then let's call the witnesses held by the Western Suburb Branch."