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Area Business Owner Failed To Pay Taxes For Years, Lied To IRS, Feds Say Area Business Owner Failed To Pay Taxes For Years, Lied To IRS, Feds Say
Area Business Owner Failed To Pay Taxes For Years, Lied To IRS, Feds Say A Hudson Valley business owner is facing charges for allegedly “knowingly and willfully failing to pay over payroll taxes for his company and for corruptly endeavoring to obstruct and impede the due administration of the internal revenue laws,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced. U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman said Dutchess County resident William Grogg, of Millbrook, has worked in the printing and publishing industry in and around Poughkeepsie since the 1980s, owning and managing the financial affairs of multiple companies.  During his three decades working in the industry, it i…

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by Zak Failla
News
Area Attorney Admits To Tax Evasion, Failure To Pay Over Payroll Taxes Area Attorney Admits To Tax Evasion, Failure To Pay Over Payroll Taxes
Area Attorney Admits To Tax Evasion, Failure To Pay Over Payroll Taxes An area attorney has admitted to tax evasion and failure to pay over payroll taxes. Francis O’Reilly, a Carmel attorney who lives in Danbury, pleaded guilty in White Plains federal court to one count of failing to pay over payroll taxes and one count of tax evasion for the calendar year 2015, U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman announced. Berman said that O’Reilly has been permitted to practice law in New York since 1989, and has been a self-employed attorney who worked out of Putnam County at the O’Reilly Law Practice. In 2015, O’Reilly admitted to withholding payroll taxes from the salaries of…

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by Zak Failla
News
Town Justice In Northern Westchester Admits To Tax Evasion Town Justice In Northern Westchester Admits To Tax Evasion
Town Justice In Northern Westchester Admits To Tax Evasion A town justice in Northern Westchester has admitted to evading payment of more than $160,000 of Federal income tax over a 10-year period, according to authorities. Lewisboro Town Justice Marc Seedorf pleaded guilty to tax evasion before U.S. District Judge Cathy Seibel in White Plains Federal Court on Friday, Dec. 6. “As he admitted, for years Marc Seedorf flouted his obligations under the law to file tax returns and to pay taxes," U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Geoffrey S. Berman said. "This was conduct that would be shameful for anyone, and all the more so …

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by Joe Lombardi
Police & Fire
Harrison Names Fourth Police Chief In Four Years Harrison Names Fourth Police Chief In Four Years
Harrison Names Fourth Police Chief In Four Years There’s a new sheriff in town. For the fourth time in four years, the Town of Harrison has appointed a new police chief, this time turning to a familiar face to fill the shoes of Joseph Yasinski, who retired in October. Harrison Police Lt. John Vasta, who has been with the Harrison Police Department for more than two decades, will officially take over as chief of police after serving in the role as interim chief for two months following Yasinski’s retirement. Vasta will reportedly earn $210,000 this year and if the budget for 2020 is approved, he will see a pay bump more than $10,000, up t…

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by Zak Failla
News
Ex-Westchester Construction Manager Admits To $35OK Bribery Scheme Ex-Westchester Construction Manager Admits To $35OK Bribery Scheme
Ex-Westchester Construction Manager Admits To $35OK Bribery Scheme A former construction manager from Westchester who worked for a global financial firm admitted to evading taxes on more than $350,000 in bribes that he received from sub-contractors over the course of several years. Michael Campana, 33, of Tuckahoe, pleaded guilty to a single count of tax evasion this week, U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman announced, in connection to a bribery scheme he used to pay for personal expenses. Between 2013 and 2017, Campana was a construction manager for a global financial firm engaged in various building projects in New York City and elsewhere. He and others p…

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by Zak Failla
News
Ex-CEO From Area Sentenced For Embezzling $1.5 Million Ex-CEO From Area Sentenced For Embezzling $1.5 Million
Ex-ceo From Area Sentenced For Embezzling $1.5 Million A Hudson Valley man who embezzled $1.5 million from a nonprofit organization he helped found in Connecticut is going to spend more than a year in prison. Paul Gileno, 47, of Brewster, the founder and CEO of the United States Pain Foundation, was sentenced in Bridgeport district court to 12 months and one day in prison, followed by two years of supervised release, for embezzlement and failing to pay federal income taxes. Gileno operated the Middletown, Connecticut-based nonprofit organization, which was designed to find support and resources for individuals with pain issues.  Between …

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by Zak Failla
News
New York Landlord Sentenced For Tax EvasionNew York Landlord Sentenced For New York Landlord Sentenced For Tax EvasionNew York Landlord Sentenced For
New York Landlord Sentenced For Tax EvasionNew York Landlord Sentenced For A landlord with properties in Connecticut and New York has been sentenced after admitting to failing to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes. Anthony Valentino, of Palm City, Florida, pleaded guilty in Bridgeport district court earlier to one count of tax evasion after attempting to avoid paying more than $300,000 in income taxes, U.S. Attorney John Durham announced. This week, he was sentenced to nine months in prison, followed by a year of supervised release. Valentino must also pay a $10,000 fine. Durham said that Valentino, 76, is a real estate investor with properties in New Y…

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by Zak Failla
News
Bookkeeper Admits Helping Northern Westchester Restaurant Owner Evade Taxes Bookkeeper Admits Helping Northern Westchester Restaurant Owner Evade Taxes
Bookkeeper Admits Helping Northern Westchester Restaurant Owner Evade Taxes A former bookkeeper working for a prominent pizzeria owner in Fairfield and Westchester counties is facing time behind bars after admitting to helping her boss evade paying federal taxes. Queens Village resident Idalecia Lopes Santos, 59, has pleaded guilty in Bridgeport district court to one count of tax evasion for her role in helping Bruno DiFabio, the owner of several restaurants, avoid paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes. Santos worked as an outside bookkeeper for DeFabio - who had restaurants in New Canaan; Wilton; Scarsdale; Stamford; Greenwich and Pound Ridge - while sh…

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by Zak Failla
News
Trash-Hauling Owner Working In Westchester Sentenced For Not Filing Taxes Trash-Hauling Owner Working In Westchester Sentenced For Not Filing Taxes
Trash-Hauling Owner Working In Westchester Sentenced For Not Filing Taxes A 72-year-old refuse company owner from Fairfield County will spend time behind bars after admitting to failing to file tax returns for more than a decade in Stamford and parts of Westchester County. Stamford resident Wayne Margarum has been sentenced to 18 months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release after pleading guilty to two counts of willful failure to file an income tax return after failing to do so for his business dating back to 2004. For more than 40 years, Margarum has owned and operated Margarum Refuse, which provides garbage removal services. The business servi…

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by Zak Failla
News
Former Police Chief In Westchester Sentenced To Prison For Tax Evasion Former Police Chief In Westchester Sentenced To Prison For Tax Evasion
Former Police Chief In Westchester Sentenced To Prison For Tax Evasion A former police chief in Westchester will be bumping elbows with some of the people he put away after pleading guilty to federal tax evasion charges. Former Harrison Police Chief Anthony Marraccini has been sentenced to 18 months in prison after admitting to failing to pay more than $900,000 in state and federal taxes over the course of six years. He pleaded guilty to the charge in January. Marraccini retired early from the department while he was the target of a federal investigation in 2016. The former chief had pleaded for no jail time, but received less than the two years that prosecuto…

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by Zak Failla
Politics
Michael Cohen Starts Sentence At Area Prison Called 'Castle Behind Bars' Michael Cohen Starts Sentence At Area Prison Called 'Castle Behind Bars'
Michael Cohen Starts Sentence At Area Prison Called 'Castle Behind Bars' Michael Cohen, the former personal lawyer and so-called "fixer" for President Donald Trump, will be reporting to a facility on Monday, May 6 once named by Forbes as one of the "10 cushiest prisons" in America. The 52-year-old Cohen was sentenced in December, 2018 to three years after he admitted to lying to Congress about Trump’s business dealings in Russia, breaking campaign finance laws on behalf of Trump and evading $1.4 million in taxes related to his personal businesses.  The Otisville Federal Correctional Institution, where Cohen will begin his sentence, is located in O…

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by Joe Lombardi
News
Ex-Cop From Area Admits To Tax Evasion, Fraudulently Obtaining Disability Benefits Ex-Cop From Area Admits To Tax Evasion, Fraudulently Obtaining Disability Benefits
Ex-Cop From Area Admits To Tax Evasion, Fraudulently Obtaining Disability Benefits A former NYPD detective from the area has admitted to his role in a million dollar disability fraud scheme. Gerard Scparta, a former New York City Police Department officer from Campbell Hall in Orange County, has pleaded guilty to fraudulently obtaining more than $630,000 in disability benefits from the Social Security Administration and underreporting income on his taxes to the tune of $268,000. Scparta pleaded guilty to lying to the Social Security Administration about his disability, and falsely represented that he was unable to work due to his disability. While he was collecting disabi…

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by Zak Failla