The close friend of the accused mastermind of the largest financial corruption scandal in the District’s history is scheduled to appear in federal court today as part of a plea deal, according to charging documents.

Patricia Steven is expected to admit that she helped longtime friend and former D.C. tax office manager Harriette Walters embezzle millions of dollars from the D.C. government.

She will be the eighth person to plead guilty since the tax office scandal became public last November.

Steven, 74, is the wife of former Internal Revenue Service supervisor Robert Steven, who last month admitted in court to depositing $9.2 million into the account of a catering business he owned with his wife.

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They used the $1.7 million they kept to pay for Jaguar

vehicles, a town house and Bahamas trips.

Walters and the couple also have close ties through an adoption arranged by Walters. They met in the early 1980s while the Stevens were living in a Georgetown high-rise and Walters was working in a business in the first floor of the building, according to sources close to the case.

Walters knew a woman who claimed to be North African royalty and had just given birth to a baby girl.

Walters wanted to adopt the girl herself but was not able to and the Stevens didn’t have a child of their own.

Patricia Steven’s testimony is important because she was a longtime friend of Walters’ and they went on shopping sprees and gambling trips together.

Early in the scam, Patricia Steven voiced concerned about hiding money. She wanted to make sure her husband wouldn’t have tax trouble because of the extra income, according to sources close to the case.

smccabe@dcexaminer.com