The Nation - News from Jan. 9, 1987

The swank Fifth Avenue jewelry store Van Cleef & Arpels was ordered to pay more than $5 million after the firm and its 74-year-old president, Claude Arpels, pleaded guilty in a sales tax evasion scam. It was the largest payment ever in a criminal sales tax evasion case in New York, officials said. Among those the posh store allegedly helped to avoid paying sales tax were former Philippines First Lady Imelda Marcos and hotel queen Leona Helmsley.