Owner Of Mystic Pizza Gets Prison Time For Tax Evasion

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – John Zelepos, owner of Mystic Pizza, the Connecticut pizzeria that inspired the 1988 film that launched Julia Roberts' career, was sentenced Monday to a year in federal prison for tax evasion.

The owner of Mystic Pizza was sentenced to a year in federal prison Monday on charges of tax evasion.
Photo Credit: *Patrick Ashley*

Jim Barg

08/25/2015 1:30 p.m.

Zelepos, a resident of North Stonington, will also pay a $25,000 fine, forfeit more than $500,000, pay back taxes with interest and be under supervised release for three years after his prison term.

He was found to have diverted over $567,000 of Mystic Pizza receipts into various bank accounts from 2006 to 2010, along with paying over $162,000 to two 'no-show' employees who did no work for the pizzeria.

Over $330,000 of that money was diverted into his family's accounts.

He pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion and one count of structuring financial transactions on March 31.

Zelepos will report to prison on Oct. 30.

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