State Rep. Joe Armstrong has testified during his federal tax evasion trial that he failed to disclose his earnings from the sale of cigarette tax stamps because he was unfamiliar with what were then new ethics disclosure forms.
The longtime Democratic lawmaker is charged with failing to report more than $300,000 in earnings from the investment related to a cigarette tax hike that he had voted for.
Armstrong said he mistakenly failed to disclose the windfall stemming from a 2007 cigarette tax hike on the statement of interest forms that public officials are required for file with the state ethics bureau.
