April 16. 2008 Page B2 L aw /J ustice FULL LOCKSMITH SERVICE • RE-KEY AND INSTALL LOCKS LOCKED OUT?-WE MAKE KEYS FROM SCRATCH: HOUSE, OFFICE OR CAR Portland 503.284.9582 • Oregon City 503.656.2116 Serving Portland/Metro area (N, NE, SE, SW & NW) Your Care Our First Priority loc a te d at 1716 N.E. 42nd Ave. Portland, OR 97213 (Between Broadway and Sandx Blvd. ) A utom obile accident injuries C hronic headache and jo in t pain W orkers C om pensation injuries Call for an appointment! (503)228-614(1 S ta te Farm ® Providing Insurance and Financial Services Home Office, Bloomington, Illinois 61710 Warning about services issued According to a Better Business Bureau study, nearly one-third of complaints against tax preparation companies allege that the preparer made an error or mistake in their tax return, resulting in the consumer having to pay fines or added fees to rectify the problem. “Few things are as certain as death and taxes, and it’s also true that few things are as scary—that’s why more than half of the 120 mil­ lion American taxpayers enlist the help of a tax preparer every year,” said Robert Andrew, president and chief executive officer of the BBB serving Alaska, Oregon, and West­ ern Washington. "However, con­ sumers end up being held respon­ sible when their tax preparer makes mistakes or errors on their return. This can mean fees and fines add­ ing up to thousands of dollars that they owe the government.” Mistakes and errors are the most com m on co m p la in t c a teg o ry against tax preparers. Approxi­ mately 20 percent of complaints I)r. Marcelitte Failla Chiropractic Physician We a re Tax Preparer Mistakes Cost Consumers IM tU I»M l I ... ....-n > Michael E Harper We moved to our new location at: a s t " y - 1, trie allege that the tax preparer was sim­ ply unresponsive. Typically, the tax preparer did not return repeated cal Is or attempts by the complainant to receive as­ sistan ce. M any c o m p lain an ts noted that they felt frantic as they faced filing deadlines or audits, and were not receiving any help from their tax preparer. Disputes over billing accounted for 19 percent of complaints to the BBB. Typically, consumers were shocked when they received a high bill for having their taxes prepared or felt that they did not receive the level of service they paid for. Almost 7 percent of complain­ ants say the tax preparation com­ pany was rude, and 6 percent of complainants say they didn’t re­ ceive their refund. The most dis­ turbing finding may be that 6.3 per­ cent of complainants allege that the tax preparer never filed their tax return at all. The BBB wants to warn consum­ ers that when the 1RS detects a false return, the taxpayer, not the tax preparer, must pay any additional taxes as well as any other associ­ ated interest, fees and penalties. The taxpayer is responsible for all information submitted to the IRS. Many tax preparers provide qual­ ity services to their clients, but the BBB encourages consumers to use the same caution in selecting tax preparation help as they do when they select other professional ser­ vices such as doctors or lawyers. Your BBB offers the following advice when searching for help with taxes: Ask around. Get referrals from friends and family on who they use, and get a free reliability report on a tax preparation business from the BBB website at bbb.org. Ideally, tax preparers should ei­ ther be a certified public accoun­ tant, a tax attorney or an enrolled agent. All three can represent tax­ payers before the IRS in all matters, including an audit. Also, find out if the preparer is affiliated with a pro­ fessional organization that holds its members to a code of ethics. Don’t fall forthe promiseofabig refund. Be wary of any tax prepara­ tion businesses that promise larger refunds than the competition, and avoid tax preparers who base their fee on a percentage of your refund. 9713 S.W. Capitol, Portland, OR Obama Ex-Minister to Address NAACP Armed Tavern Robber Wanted 503-221-3050 Fax 503-227-8757 (A P ) — T h e e m b a ttle d form er m inister o f D em ocratic presidential candidate Barack O bam a has been selected as the k ey n o te sp e a k e r for the D etroit branch o f the N A A C P ’s 53rd Annual Fight for Freedom Fund dinner. T he civil rights organization sa id T h u r s d a y th e R e v . Jerem iah Wright will speak April 27 at the event, w hose past speakers have included O bam a, Sen. H illary Clinton and form er President Bill C linton. bcensec/ fsrftehc ion N a il tech, Skin Analyst & Make-Up Artist XWEUtY T he N ational A ssociation for the A dvancem ent o f C olored People's Freedom Fund dinner draw s about 10,000 people. W right has been criticized for rem arks about ev erything from race relations to the Sept. 11 te rro rist attacks. H e recently retired from C h ic a g o 's T rinity U nited C hurch o f C hrist. O b am a has d en o u n ced the m ost inflam m atory o f W right's com m ents, but says he shouldn’t be ju d g e d solely on a handful o f rem ark s. Rev. Jeremiah Wright BODY SHAPi CONSUL TING C a O K MATCHING Firefighter Gets 2 Months for Fraud Phone: 503.995.4136 aprljnsQyahoo. com (A P) — A form er Portland firefighter w ho collected d is­ ability paym ents w hile w orking as a m edic in Iraq has been sentenced to tw o m onths in jail. M ark V rvilo. 43, w as charged w ith ste a lin g $ 1 9 ,6 2 2 fro m P ortland’s Fire and Police D is­ ability and R etirem ent Fund by claim ing his injury w as keeping him from w orking even though Michael Tillery Broker 503.975.8004 michael@bridgetownrealty.com Please call me, your neighborhood specialist, for any of your Real Estate needs. My success is built on a commitment to quality service. he w orked various jo b s betw een 2001 and 2004. P r o s e c u to r D e n n is S h e n asked M ultnom ah C ounty J udge H e n ry K a n to r to s e n te n c e V rvilo to m ore than tw o years in prison, saying he consciously ch eated the system out nearly $100,000. But defense attorney, John C ulver, asked the ju d g e not to Man Convicted in Bank Heist B R ID G E T O W N r REALTY 11 After four days o f trial, a federal jury recently convicted Ralph Rene W illiams, 57, o f Portland, for the Aug. 14 robbery o f the Lombard-Emerald branch o f U.S. Bank in north Portland. Ralph Rene W illiam s, 57, w ho previously served 15 years in prison for robbery when he Chiropractic Auto Injury Clinic, PC Zchon R. Jones, DC 333 NE Russell St., #200, Portland, OR. 97212 (503) 284-7838 send h isc lie n t to prison because he n eeded to c o n tin u e tre a t­ m ent for post-traum atic stress disorder. “The only purpose o f sending h i m to prison w ould be as punish­ ment, which I know is w hat the state w ants,” C ulver said. “H ow ­ e v e r, the b e st th in g fo r the com m unity’s interests w ould be tohave Mr. V rvilorehabilitated.” robbed the First Interstate Bank on N orth D enver A venue, now faces se n te n c in g on June 20 for new conviction that can carry another 20 years in prison. In both cases, he w ore a full disguise. W illiams was released from custody late in 2004 and was on supervised release at the time o f the A ugust bank robbery in w hich over $27.000 in cash was stolen. The case was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by federal prosecutors. Creation of Style T he P ortland Police B u­ reau , in c o o p e ra tio n w ith C rim es S toppers, is asking for your help in solving a tavern robbery. O n F riday, M arch 28, at 1 a.m ., A n d y ’s Inn, located at 7901 S.E. F oster Rd., w as robbed at gunpoint by a lone m an. A rm ed w ith a handgun, he ordered the em ployee and patrons to the gro u n d and told them he w a sn 't afraid to shoot anyone. T he suspect took an undisclosed am ount o f m oney and left out the door. He is describ ed as a black m ale in his late 30s o r early 4 0 s.T he6-foot-1 to 6 -fo o t-2 - inch m an is said to have a thin build. He w as w earing y e l­ low goggles o v er his eyes, a yellow hooded w indbreaker, a knit cap underneath and blue jean s. C rim e Stoppers is offering a cash rew ard o f up to $ 1 ,(XX) for inform ation, reported to C rim e S toppers, that leads to a resolution in this case, and you rem ain anonym ous. Call C rim e S toppers at 503-823- H E L P (4357). Eddie Lincoln Broker "We are all beautiful in his sight” Truly making a difference in the lives of Auto Accident victims and Injured Workers for 16 years. If you or someone you know has been in an accident, call us so we can help you with your needs. (503) 284-7838 Hart Realty We are located on the corner ofM LK and Russell Street, on the second floor above the coffee shop. 9738 SE Washington St.. Suite Q Portland. Oregon 97216 Business (503) 252-2121 8208 N Denver (corner o f Kilpatrick) Portland OR 97217 503-286-3877 Email: Creationofstyle@yahoo.com B arbara W aters - O w ner W F a x (50 3 )2 5 2-2 6 2 1 Cell (503) 789-0861 E-Mail eddie.lineoln(P'ecntury21 .eom Fach office Is Independently Owned and Operated Parking Are« FUNE Riiteli «200 Russell St s i Advertise with diversity in ( all 5O3-288-(X)33 JJortlattb (Phsevurr ads@portlandobserver.eom