"What exactly is illegal about paying a person for work performed the way Ed paid Ricci? As for it being tax avoiding, maybe Ricci is considered contract help, and therefore responsible for reporting his own wages"
I don't think there is anything illegal about paying a guy for work,,,but don't social security taxes have to be paid when someone does a certain amount of work...don't you remember the big bruhaha about the rich congressmen who did not pay SS taxes on their nannies.....
I think there is up to a certain amt. that you can pay but after that you must pay SS taxes....
also, someone mentioned that it is against the law to not transfer the title in a reasonable time....here it is about one month....did Ed actually use the jeep as barter or was it more of a dangling carrot where he promised the jeep but kept legal ownership over Ricci's head...
POINT IS.....Ricci is a career criminal and Ed is not...but I think ordinary folk , like us Po'folk that envy the rich...Po's folk like us would not get away with some of the manuevers that Ed did....
Fair Labor Standards Act
Passed in 1938 and amended several times since, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) essentially ensures that all workers covered under the act are entitled to the minimum wage of $5.15 per hour, and overtime at a rate no less than one and one-half times their regular rate of pay. Overtime is applicable after 40 hours of work in a workweek. While this seems fairly straightforward, some important points and exceptions need to be noted:
Contractual criteria: First, it is important to realize that the FLSA applies only to those employees that have an established relationship between employee and employer. Simply, this means that a contractor relationship between a business and an individual voids the application of the FLSA between this type of worker and the employer. However, regarding the application of the FLSA be aware that the courts have taken a fairly liberal view as to the establishment of an employer-employee relationship. There are no criteria in this determination. The courts have tended to look at tests of "economic reality" rather than "technical concepts." Hence, be very careful when hiring contract labor to ensure that the relationship meets the proper tests. The IRS has excellent documentation to this regard.
Source:
http://www.digitaloutput.net/back%20edit/edittopic4a2.html