A Washington, D.C., tax corruption case that has resulted in tens of millions of dollars being stolen from D.C. government coffers now allegedly involves an IRS manager who is said to have been involved in the fraud scheme.

Robert Steven and his wife, Patricia Steven, were arrested in Maryland Thursday and charged with receiving stolen property and aiding and abetting in the fraud.

According to an affidavit prepared by FBI Agent Matthew Walsh, Robert Steven had an apparent affinity for Jaguars, saying, "Records obtained from a local automobile dealership indicate that between 2003 and the present, Robert O. Steven purchased four Jaguar automobiles for a total of $257,866, the most recent being a 2007 Jaguar convertible for $96,770.95."

The affidavit also notes that Steven worked as a division director for the Modernization Information Technology Systems at the IRS and had an annual salary of $143,471.

The case came to light when a bank employee tipped off the FBI to an alleged scheme run by Harriette Walters, a manager at the D.C. Real Property Tax Administration Adjustments unit and Diane Gustus at the D.C. Office of Tax Revenue.

The pair allegedly approved and issued fraudulent property tax refund checks that averaged $388,000 per check. Investigators say the funds were used to buy luxury goods, including jewelry, homes and clothing.

According to affidavits filed in the case, Walter's annual salary as a District of Columbia employee was $81,000, but from September 2000 to the present, she is said to have spent more than $1.4 million at Neiman Marcus.

Court records and an affidavit filed in the case allege that 11 checks totaling almost $2.8 million were issued and deposited into a bank account held and used by Robert and Patricia Steven. The documents claim that a check authorized by Walters on June 30, 2006, for the sum of $490,000 was deposited into the Steven's bank account July 10, 2006.

"Agents and prosecutors in Washington, D.C., and Maryland are working diligently to trace every dollar that was stolen from the D.C. Tax Office. My advice to anyone who profited from this scheme is to call the FBI today, and don't wait for us to contact you," said Rod Rosenstein, U.S. attorney for Maryland.

The case has been prosecuted by the U.S. Attorneys for Maryland and District of Columbia working with agents from the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation. Court documents filed in November revealed that in addition to allegedly spending more than $1.4 million at Neimen Marcus, Walters also purchased several properties, including a $420,000 house in Washington and two homes in New Jersey.

The New Jersey homes include a $389,000 home in Washington and a $855,000 property in Bridgeport purchased by Walters.

Devlin is already serving multiple life terms for kidnapping and assaulting Shawn Hornbeck and another Missouri boy, Ben Ownby. This time around, a federal judge went well beyond the sentencing guideline of 30 years.

The sentence came on a guilty plea in October from Devlin to four counts of making pornographic photos and videotapes of Shawn, who was abducted at age 11 in 2002, and two counts for taking Shawn across state lines on trips to Illinois and Arizona with the intent of sexually assaulting him.

The Associated Press generally does not identify victims of sexual assaults, but the identities of Devlin's victims became widely known in the coverage of his arrest and prosecution.

Devlin, 42, was sentenced to multiple life sentences in October after admitting to crimes in Franklin, Washington and St. Louis counties connected to the abductions of Shawn and 13-year-old Ben Ownby in January. Both boys were found four days after Ben was abducted at Devlin's apartment in the St. Louis County town of Kirkwood.

At the federal sentencing hearing Friday, Devlin appeared thinner, with a heavier beard. He showed no emotion, except for an occasional twitch of his shackled hands.

Shawn's parents, Craig and Pam Akers, were at the hearing. Craig Akers appeared noticeably pained when Devlin's attorney, Michael Kielty, told the judge that by pleading guilty, Devlin spared the boys and their families "the torture of going to trial."

The Akers told the judge Devlin had shown their son, and those who love him, no mercy and spoke of how they were without him for 1,558 days.

"I don't think any parent can bear the thought of their child being tortured for one day, yet alone four years," Pam Akers said.

Authorities still haven't determined where Devlin will serve his time. Missouri prison officials are so concerned about his safety because of the nature of his crimes that they have said he may be moved to an out-of-state prison or placed in protective custody.

Despite news reports that Devlin might be provided a different identity, Department of Corrections spokesman Brian Hauswirth said that had never been planned and questioned whether it would be legally permitted.

"Only this court can resolve this important question," the Justice Department wrote in its 28-page appeal, filed Wednesday. "Until it does so, investigations of corruption in the nation's capital and elsewhere will be seriously and perhaps even fatally stymied."

Jefferson's attorney, Robert P. Trout, declined comment Friday.

The Constitution prohibits the executive branch from using its law enforcement powers to interfere with the lawmaking process, and the FBI should have given Jefferson a chance to argue that some of the documents involved legislative business, according to the August ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

The May 2006 raid was part of a 16-month international bribery investigation of Jefferson, a nine-term Democrat from New Orleans. He is accused of accepting $100,000 from a telecommunications businessman, $90,000 of which was later recovered in a freezer in the congressman's Washington home.

Jefferson pleaded not guilty in June to charges of soliciting more than $500,000 in bribes while using his office to broker business deals in Africa.

In its August ruling, the federal appeals court held that the raid itself was constitutional. But it ordered the Justice Department to return any legislative documents it seized from Jefferson's office on Capitol Hill. Still undecided is whether prosecutors can use other records it confiscated as part of their bribery case against Jefferson.

Justice Department attorneys said the ruling "fundamentally misinterprets" constitutional guarantees that allow the executive branch to investigate and prosecute corruption in Congress.

"Although this case involves a search of a Capitol Hill office (a concededly extraordinary event), the court's decision threatens to impede searches of Members' homes, vehicles, or briefcases," government attorneys wrote in their appeal to the Supreme Court.

In addition to Jefferson, the Justice Department is investigating disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff's dealings with Reps. John Doolittle and Jerry Lewis, both California Republicans; former Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas; and former Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont. A dozen people — including former Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, former Deputy Interior Secretary Steven Griles and former White House official David Safavian — have been convicted in the Abramoff probe.

In a Thursday hearing on the Jefferson case, an FBI agent testified that investigators had information about potentially shady business deals involving Jefferson going back the late 1990s. During a pretrial hearing in federal court in suburban Virginia, FBI agent Timothy Thibault said he found a bureau document from the late 1990s questioning Jefferson's business deals with a sugar company.

The IRS is auditing similar issues for 2004 through 2006, the package delivery company said in the filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

"Given the preliminary status of this matter, we cannot yet determine the amount or a reasonable range of potential loss. However, we do not believe that any loss is probable," Fedex said in the filing.

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which has asserted FedEx Ground workers are in fact employees and which is campaigning to unionize FedEx Ground drivers, welcomed the IRS decision.

"It's game over for FedEx's independent contractor scam," union President Jim Hoffa said in a statement.

The union said penalties against FedEx could eventually top $1 billion, since the current penalty only covers the year 2002.

FedEx said that it has "strong defenses to the IRS's tentative assessment and will vigorously defend" its position that FedEx Ground's owner-operators are independent contractors.

The filing came a day after Memphis, Tenn.-based FedEx warned that it faces "increase regulatory and legal uncertainty" over the independent contractor model it uses at FedEx Ground, which could result in higher costs..

FedEx Ground uses 15,000 drivers who are paid as independent contractors. Under this system, FedEx Ground drivers can own multiple routes, employing other drivers to deliver packages. Investors like the model because it helps FedEx save money and compete against main rival United Parcel Service Inc and its unionized work force.

The IRS is auditing similar issues for 2004 through 2006, the package delivery company said in the filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

"Given the preliminary status of this matter, we cannot yet determine the amount or a reasonable range of potential loss. However, we do not believe that any loss is probable," Fedex said in the filing.

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which has asserted FedEx Ground workers are in fact employees and which is campaigning to unionize FedEx Ground drivers, welcomed the IRS decision.

"It's game over for FedEx's independent contractor scam," union President Jim Hoffa said in a statement.

The union said penalties against FedEx could eventually top $1 billion, since the current penalty only covers the year 2002.

FedEx said that it has "strong defenses to the IRS's tentative assessment and will vigorously defend" its position that FedEx Ground's owner-operators are independent contractors.

The filing came a day after Memphis, Tenn.-based FedEx warned that it faces "increase regulatory and legal uncertainty" over the independent contractor model it uses at FedEx Ground, which could result in higher costs..

FedEx Ground uses 15,000 drivers who are paid as independent contractors. Under this system, FedEx Ground drivers can own multiple routes, employing other drivers to deliver packages. Investors like the model because it helps FedEx save money and compete against main rival United Parcel Service Inc and its unionized work force.