Chain Saw Juggler Accused of Tax Return Fiddling

He survived eight years of juggling chain saws at Venice Beach without suffering as much as a scratch.

It’s the three years that Robert W. Gruenberg Jr. allegedly juggled numbers on his tax returns that could end up costing him an arm and a leg.

A federal grand jury has indicted the famed boardwalk performer for filing false tax returns and failing to report nearly $63,000 in income in 1984, 1985 and 1986 from his one-of-a-kind juggling act, officials said Friday.

If convicted, Gruenberg, 31, of Redondo Beach faces up to three years in federal prison and a $300,000 fine.

Gruenberg failed to fully account for money earned from admiring onlookers at Venice Beach as well as from “his live performances, from his performances as a juggler on television, at sporting events and in theaters and night clubs,” according to the three-count indictment.

‘He dropped the ball,” said federal prosecutor Steven G. Madison.

Gruenberg, who now runs a park-and-sell used car consignment lot in Redondo Beach, could not be reached for comment Friday.

But his lawyer, Pat McGinnis, said Gruenberg’s arraignment has been rescheduled for April 22 after first being set for Monday--this year’s deadline for filing individual 1990 tax returns.

Although the IRS seems to come down on a celebrity scofflaw each April 15--last year it was hotel owner Leona Helmsley and her $42 million tax bill--officials called the timing of Gruenberg’s indictment coincidental.

Gruenberg claimed income of $7,712 in 1984 but failed to report an additional $7,247, said IRS spokeswoman Judith Golden. In 1985, he listed $5,331 in income but failed to show another $12,209; he reported income of $8,779 in 1986 but overlooked $21,589, she said.

Officials would not disclose how they learned of Gruenberg’s alleged tax cheating. But the tip-off could have come from the chain saw man himself.

In newspaper and magazine interviews during that period, Gruenberg boasted that his unusual act was cutting a wide swath through show business.

He told of major Las Vegas engagements, numerous television bookings such as “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson,” trips to perform in places like Italy and Japan and dozens of TV commercials. He bragged that his Venice Beach act earned him $600 a weekend--and about $1,000 during one 12-hour Labor Day period.