IRS Criminal Investigations¶
IRS Criminal Investigations (IRS CI) is the federal tax-enforcement unit whose SWAT-style team raids the Ferry Lodge in The Radford Horrors at the end of an eight-month fraud investigation, just as the task force arrives to check in.
| Type | Government agency (federal) |
| Aliases | IRS agents |
| Leader | An unnamed, exasperated agent who pulls off his helmet |
| Status | Active; shut down the Ferry Lodge (as of Radford Horrors 02) |
| First appearance | Radford Horrors 02 |
Overview¶
The team is a SWAT-style unit led by an unnamed agent. Its eight-month fraud investigation targets the Ferry Lodge and its new management, whom locals describe as arriving four or five months earlier and being "snooty" and secretive, bringing in their own staff and refusing to hire locals. The episodes never say what the fraud was (Radford Horrors 02).
The white van and the watchers¶
When the task force reaches Radford in Radford Horrors 02, Kurt notices that the Ferry Lodge parking lot is half empty. He spots a nondescript white van across the street and two men standing on street corners doing nothing "in a way that is very specific," whom he reads as relatively inexperienced field agents. The team notes the van's license plate, and it circles the block as they walk in (Radford Horrors 02).
After the raid, Kurt asks an IRS agent at the door whether the van and watchers were his, and the agent confirms it. Kurt critiques the surveillance: "No one ever stands somewhere doing nothing." When Kurt mentions a molestation complaint from a homeless man, the agent recognizes him and says "he talked to us too." The man is Billy Thornton (Radford Horrors 02).
The Ferry Lodge raid¶
The SWAT team storms in just as the desk clerk hands the agents their keys. Kurt goes prone and draws, then pulls the pin on a grenade and holds it as a dead man's switch, and a Manipulate Someone roll keeps him from being shot. The raiders announce themselves as "IRS Criminal Investigations" and demand to know who the task force is. Daniel Webster sides with the raiders and vaults the counter to tackle the clerk. She runs to the back room, shreds documents and tips over file cabinets, setting them on fire. Kurt tosses a stapler to fake a grenade throw and she sprints out; Andrew catches her with Protect Someone and hands her to Webster (Radford Horrors 02).
The IRS puts out the fire, pulls paperwork from the shredder and makes arrests. The leader pulls off his helmet and demands to know why the team has a grenade; Kurt calls it "kind of a fidget." Andrew tells him the team's presence is unrelated, since there are only two places to stay in town and the other is full of bedbugs. The team is escorted out while the lodge is locked down, the clerk is handcuffed and interrogated by four agents, and Kurt drops a caltrop in front of an IRS vehicle (Radford Horrors 02).
Later¶
The diner waitress mentions that gray vans were crowded around the lodge during the raid (Radford Horrors 04). The IRS team does not reappear after the raid, and it is never established whether the fraud is tied to the Safe Environment Fund.
Trivia¶
- The spear gun, grenade and caltrops Kurt carries in this episode all get used by the end of it (Radford Horrors 02).