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Anthony Lucidonio, Sr., 84, of Philadelphia, and Nicholas Lucidonio, 56, of New Jersey, the owners of Tony Luke’s on Oregon Avenue were accused of hiding more than $8 million from the IRS for around a decade, according to the US Attorney's Office.
Federal prosecutors say the father-son duo did this by paying their employees in cash to avoid withholding payroll taxes between 2006 and 2016. The pair were indicted in 2020.
The prosecution says it intends to prove at sentencing that the scheme cost the government between $550,000 and $1.5 million.
“This tax fraud scheme victimized honest taxpayers in two ways: first, by hiding the restaurant’s revenue from the IRS and second, by avoiding employee payroll taxes,” said US Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams.
“Tony Luke’s is an iconic brand in our region, but that is no excuse or explanation for the fraud these defendants perpetrated. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute these types of crimes.”
The case was investigated by the Criminal Investigative Division of the Internal Revenue Service, and is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney John N. Kane of the Tax Division of the Department of Justice, and Assistant United States Attorney Richard P. Barrett.
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