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July 19, 2016 -- Acting Westchester County District Attorney James A. McCarty announced that Peter Spagnuolo (DOB 11/25/66) of 10 Cottage Place, White Plains, NY was arraigned on July 18, 2016 on a felony complaint charging him with:

  • one count of Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, a class “C” Felony,
  • two counts of Criminal Tax Fraud in the Third Degree,  class “D” Felonies.

In a joint investigation carried out by the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office and the New York State Tax Department, it was determined that the defendant committed the above named offenses between March 1, 2009 and Jan. 31, 2015.

Spagnuolo owned two restaurant franchises at the food court located at the Westchester Mall: the Desert Moon Café and Nathan’s. He was required to collect sales tax from customers on behalf of New York State and to remit both sales tax payments and file sales tax returns.

The investigation revealed that the defendant failed to file sales tax returns for either business, and also failed to remit sales tax funds collected by each business to the New York State Tax Department. 

The total amount of sales tax funds collected and not remitted during this period was approximately $350,000.00. For tax years 2014 and 2015, the defendant failed to pay $67,927 in sales tax liability on the illegally obtained money.

“When a company or an individual fails to remit sales tax, as alleged here, it’s a crime against all New Yorkers because it denies the State and local governments funds they need to pay for a wide array of services,” said New York State Commissioner of Taxation and Finance Jerry Boone. “We will continue to work with Acting District Attorney McCarty and all levels of law enforcement to investigate and prosecute tax evasion.”

The defendant’s bail was set at $5,000.

His next court appearance will be on Aug. 16, 2016.

The defendant faces an indeterminate sentence, the maximum being five to 15 years in state prison.

Assistant District Attorney Nicole Gamble of the Investigations Division is prosecuting the case.

 

Peter Spagnuolo

Peter Spagnuolo

 

In compliance with Disciplinary Rule 7-107A of the Code of Professional Responsibility, you are advised that a charge is merely an accusation and that a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.