Federal suit filed against Iwanski, Mead, and Emert
A lawsuit was filed in federal court on Monday against Anderson County Trustee Myron Iwanski, County Commissioners Steve Emert and Steve Mead, as well as Mead’s wife Leslie.
The lawsuit, filed by Anderson County Delinquent Tax Attorney Doyle “Trippy” Teno, alleges Iwanski obtained copies of Teno’s tax return information from the Finance Office and the Clerk and Master’s office at some point prior to April 5 of this year.
Iwanski serves as chairman of the Anderson County Finance Committee and as treasurer of Emert’s campaign for county mayor.
The lawsuit charges that the Meads were at a campaign event in Oak Ridge on April 5 with campaign materials which included a document which referenced Teno’s tax return information as well as his IRS Form W-2 and Form 1099 — an alleged violation of federal law. The document entitled “Things You Need to Know about Terry Frank,” also allegedly violated state law because it did not identify who was responsible for the content.
In addition to legal fees and punitive damages, the lawsuit seeks damages in the amount of $1,000 for “each act of unauthorized inspection or disclosure of a return or return information.”
