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John Garofalo Sr. of Union Township – who owns Mario’s Tutto Bene restaurant in the township -- paid the outstanding $496,374.99 to the state as part of a plea deal that he hopes will get him leniency, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said.
His assistants will recommend that Superior Court Judge Sherry L. Wilson send Garofalo to state prison for three years at as scheduled Sept. 28 sentencing in Trenton, Platkin said.
Restaurant owners in New Jersey must charge 6.625% sales tax on food and drink, all of which must be paid forward to the state, the attorney general explained.
Garofalo reported only 40% of the total from his Chestnut Street restaurant from July 2015 through March 2022, Platkin said.
Rather than risk the potential consequences of a trial, Garofalo took a deal from state prosecutors, pleading guilty last Monday, June 19, to theft.
“John Garofalo Sr. illegally pocketed hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax revenues that belonged to the state, money that is used to fund infrastructure improvements, education, public assistance, and other programs and services that benefit the residents of New Jersey,” Platkin said.
“We will not allow defendants to enrich themselves at the expense of honest taxpayers who rely on the services and benefits funded by their tax dollars,” the attorney general added.
“The willful withholding of sales tax is stealing, plain and simple,”
The case was investigated by the NJ Division of Taxation’s Office of Criminal Investigation and detectives from the state Division of Criminal Justice and the Office of Securities Fraud and Financial Crimes Prosecutions.
OSFFCP Deputy Attorney General Derek Miller secured the plea.
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