NATION IN BRIEF : NEW YORK : Gotti Trial Focuses on Tax Return Issue

John Gotti may have committed the same error that led Al Capone to his downfall--ignoring the IRS, a witness testified at the reputed Mafia boss’ federal trial on racketeering and murder charges. An Internal Revenue Service supervisor produced records showing Gotti filed no income tax returns from 1984 to 1989, although his employers reported paying him more than $210,000 in that period. Gotti, 51, is also charged with conspiracy to defraud the government by failing to file tax returns for six years and claiming sham no-show jobs on previous returns. Capone, boss of the Chicago mob during Prohibition, was finally put behind bars on income tax evasion charges.