Ron Perleberg
A # RON PERLEBERG, was the part time deputy reserve who heard Yorie'sconfession in the hospital room, coming out from major anethesia. I was telling about Yori when he talked about the shooting. And he hadmentioned that he had shot at that man in the white shirt by the Ram charger. And, then he turned to look at his dad. And, then Yori said that he washit. And then--I'd mentioned that well, you have that cut under the chin,sideways cut on the chin, that explains how you got that cut. And, thenhe again mentioned to me. He said, I could have got it afterwards causeI was shot several times after laying on the ground. As far as the notes, this is the last, the 16th is the last day I reallytalked to him in detail. Then he talked to the marshalls in the and ourchief deputy. And, from then on he never said anything more. After thathe was a lot more coherent. I don't remember now. Yeah, there was some lawyers that come up. That'sright. After he gave his statement though--on the 16th he just kind ofquieted down. I think he started realizing that maybe I don't want to talktoo much. You know I don't recall that. They read him his rights. They made thearrest there. But, I don't recall any areignments going on in the hospital,no. I would work normally from one o'clock to nine o'clock. One o'clockin the morning to nine o'clock in the morning. The first night I went about ten o'clock (nine/ten o'clock) and startedthen. But once we got on the schedule, I just stayed on the one to nine. No, tell the truth they never bothered him much at all, execpt they cameup that day with our deputy Jack Miller. Otherwise they didn't really botherus at the hospital. Nothing other than really that he was very devoted to his father. Thatwas first with him. No. No. No. Just for testifying. That was it. I sat through some of the trial. That's tough. When we got down there--before we went to the trial, wewent down and, we went through it all with the prosecutors. Lynn Crooksand Dennis Fisher. We went through a lot of it. And, they gave you instructionsof court room procedure, and all this. I'd never been in a big trial before. And, so in a way I was nervous. And, it's differnt going in there youcan confront the whole family more or less. To testify against a man that,you know, if he's found guilty he's going to be in prison. I kind of feltsad for him in a way because he had a wife and young children. And, soI could reflect on that. I though, well, I'll just tell what I know andthat's it. As far as when the trial is over, I really didn't feel likewe won, or anything. To me it was a bad situation all the way around. I had to feel sorry for Yori because, I knew he was caught-up in his father. I'm sure Yori did just by me talking to him in the hospital. When hewas partially sedated, he could could come out and tell that he did it. To me that's more honesty than when you're fully coherent and know howto cover it up. Not really, never got bothered by anybody. It's just something theylet go. It happened. It's over. Not really. No. As far as the public opinion, I don't think there wasreally hard feelings one way or the other. Not really. I guess the only thing that I thought was interesting wasthat each one of them had their own lawyer. Yori had a lawyer. Scott Fallhad a lwyer. His mother had a lawyer.And, it got to be really time consumingthat way, 'cause you had to relay your whole story to each one of them.And, I felt like after the second one, that this is getting tough becauseyou could start to forget some of this after a while you keep telling itover and over again. But, anyway it didn't happen. Oh, yes well that's a good lawyer. And, they were good lawyers. I thinkthey were well represented. I would say so yeah. Well, you can recute the judge, but the story is still the same. Factsare facts. No. I guess when you called--can I remember all this. It was some yearsago. But it does some back pretty good once you start talking about it. I can picture the whole thing again. END ROD PERLEBBERG
|
A timeline of the life of Gordon Kahl, from early childhood interests, to his marriage to Joan Kahl, his decorated military experience,
his outspoken tax protest, the Medina shootout, and his unusual death in Arkansas in 1983.
|
VARIETY / Indie documaker Jeffrey F. Jackson sticks it to the IRS and the Feds in "Death & Taxes," a hard-hitting reinvestigation of the 1983 Gordon Kahl case, about which questions still linger. Jackson's unfazed, investigative reporting-style approach and inventive handling of familiar material make this a controversial item for fests and progressive webs. Non-U.S. viewers will also get a charge out of its conspiracy theme. read more
CHRONICLES MAGAZINE / Gordon Kahl was a simple farmer who became famous for not filing income tax returns. Imprisoned and hounded by IRS agents who never did prove he owed any amount of money, Kahl and his son were involved in a shootout with police. The son is still serving a prison sentence, but the father was surrounded and shot in Arkansas by police officers who mutilated and burned his body. read more
GUNS & AMMO / A new video documentary, Death & Taxes, details a case of government murderously out of control that was briefly mentioned in the October 1994 Guns & Ammo article "The Ugly Truth About Gun Control." Death & Taxes is the story of Gordon Kahl, a North Dakota farmer and decorated World War II veteran, and his apparent death at the hands of federal agents. read more
|
|
Now Available!This set of 6 DVD's comprises over 13 hours of uncut footage, including a 2+ hour prison interview with Yorie Kahl, and candid interviews with wife Joan Kahl. In this rich stockpile of research, you'll find many more threads than could reasonably be pursued in the final feature.
The Death & Taxes Miniseries DVD Set Includes...
01: Gordon Kahl Meets With Head North Dakota U.S. Marshal Bud Warren (60 min)
02: The Beginning: Gordon Kahl's military experience and views on a variety of subjects (93 min)
03: Gordon's Texas Tax Trial (90 min)
04: Medina Shootout (60 min)
05: Gordon Kahl Was...: A montage of over 25 people describing who Gordon Kahl was in their eyes. (50 min)
06: Mysterious Death In Arkansas (90 min)
07: Media Circus: Chronological portrayal of Gordon Kahl in the media (70 min)
08: Yorie Kahl Prison Interview (150 min)
09: Joan Kahl Uncut Interviews (120 min)
A little-known fact regarding Death & Taxes is the surprising connection to Timothy McVeigh and the ATF / Oklahoma City Bombing. Here's a clip of Jackson sharing the story during a director's commentary on his film Postal Worker.
The story of Gordon Kahl so captured the attention of mainstream America that it was turned into a highly-rated made-for-television movie titled
In The Line of Duty - Manhunt In The Dakotas.
DEATH & TAXES is the story of Gordon Kahl, a North Dakota farmer who became America's "most-wanted" fugitive. How had a WWII war hero become the target of one of the largest manhunts in FBI history?
|
|
The badly burned remains of Gordon Kahl, with an island of skin that shows he was in a prone position at the time of the fire.
Was Kahl a racist, gun-toting fanatic? Or a victim of an IRS policy of harassing vocal tax protestors into silence to keep the rest of us intimidated? Did Bill Clinton conspire to cover-up the torture and execution of Gordon Kahl in Arkansas? Did federal agents mutilate and burn the body to cover-up the murder of the wrong man?
DEATH & TAXES follows the trail of Gordon Kahl as his body is exhumed for a new autopsy. Building on newsreel clips covering two fiery shootouts and hundreds of interviews -- with IRS agents and federal prosecutors as well as Kahl's family and supporters -- D&T explores the myths and controversies surrounding a man who dared to challenge the federal income tax system. Some revile Kahl as a cop killer. Others revere him as an American patriot. Which was he?
|
|