NJ Auto Shop Owner Who Stiffed IRS To Wager On Horses Headed To Prison, But Not Furlong

A New Jersey auto repair shop owner who gambled on horse races has to serve a year and a day in federal prison for not ponying up to the IRS, authorities said.

Edison's Gabriel Ferrari, who was the president and CEO of Buses and Trucks in Linden, admitted in federal court that he liked to play the ponies, authorities said.
Photo Credit: *Meadowlands Racetrack / INSET: IRS.gov*

Jerry DeMarco

07/21/2023 8:14 a.m.

Gabriel Ferrari, who was the president and CEO of Buses and Trucks in Linden, tapped his business account for bets at the track, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said.

Ferrari, of Edison, stiffed the government $291,600 in taxes from a cash payroll and didn’t tell his return preparer, the U.S. attorney said.

Ferrari took a deal from federal prosecutors rather than risk the potential consequences of a guilty verdict at a trial. He’ll have to serve all of the sentence because there’s no parole in the federal prison system.

U.S. District Judge Stanley R. Chesler also ordered Ferrari to serve one year of supervised release and to pay approximately $87,926 in restitution to the government.

Trial Attorney Ann M. Cherry of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Trombley of Sellinger’s office secured the plea and sentence following an investigation by agents from IRS-Criminal Investigation.

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