FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                         TAX
FRIDAY, JANUARY 27, 1995                           (202) 616-2765
                                               TDD (202) 514-1888

   FIVE PEOPLE INDICTED IN DIESEL FUEL EXCISE TAX FRAUD SCHEME


     WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A United States District Court judge in
Dallas today unsealed an indictment of five people on charges of
tax evasion, wire fraud and money laundering for their
involvement in a scheme to defraud the U.S. Treasury of more than
$1.3 million in diesel fuel excise taxes during 1989 and 1990,
the Department of Justice's Tax Division and the U.S. Attorney's
Office in Dallas announced.
     Indicted were Lawrence M. Harrison, Lawrence J. Harrison,
Joseph M. Harrison, Peter F. Raneri, and Susie Mulry, who owned
and operated Hebco Petroleum, Inc., a wholesale motor fuel
distributor in Dallas.  Lawrence M. Harrison is the father of
defendants Lawrence J. Harrison, Joseph M. Harrison and Susie
Mulry.
     According to the indictment, the defendants, through Hebco,
bought more than 10 million gallons of diesel fuel tax-free from
suppliers.  They then resold the diesel fuel to various customers
at a price that included excise tax.  The excise taxes were never
paid over to the government.  False invoices were created stating
that another company made the diesel fuel sales to Hebco's
customers instead of Hebco.
     Lawrence M. Harrison and Joseph M. Harrison were arrested
yesterday in Seattle, Washington.  They will be arraigned in
Dallas.  The remaining defendants are expected to surrender
shortly.
     The 11 count indictment was returned under seal in U.S.
District Court in Dallas, Texas, on December 8, 1994, in order to
give the government sufficient opportunity to locate and arrest
Lawrence M. Harrison, a fugitive in connection with a state
indictment.  The indictment charged Lawrence M. Harrison,
Lawrence J. Harrison, Joseph M. Harrison, Peter F. Raneri and
Susie Mulry each with one count of conspiracy and two counts of
excise tax evasion.  Lawrence M. Harrison, Joseph M. Harrison,
and Peter F. Raneri also were charged with two counts of wire
fraud, five counts of money laundering, and one count of criminal
forfeiture.
     Lawrence M. Harrison, Lawrence J. Harrison, Joseph M.
Harrison, and Peter F. Raneri each face up to 125 years in prison
and substantial fines if convicted; Susie Mulry faces up to 15
years in prison and substantial fines if she is convicted.
     The indictment is part of an ongoing nationwide
investigation by the Tax Division and the Internal Revenue
Service into motor fuel excise tax fraud.  This case was
investigated by attorneys from the Tax Division and from the U.S.
Attorney's office in Dallas and special agents from the Criminal
Investigation Division of the Internal Revenue Service.
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95-55