Dino Caloia to Receive 5 Years Of Probation; Repaid Over $128K in Overdue Sales Tax; Will Pay Over $300K in Additional Penalties and Interest
Schneiderman: Those Who Skirt the Law for Personal Gain Will Be Held Accountable
SYRACUSE – Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman and Taxation and Finance Commissioner Jerry Boone today announced the conviction of Dino A. Caloia, the owner of a used car dealership and service station in Syracuse, on 5 felony charges stemming from his failure to file sales tax returns and remit sales tax which was collected.
“Business owners who do not pay taxes have an unfair advantage over those who play by the rules,” said Attorney General Schneiderman. “This settlement helps level the playing field for dealerships and service stations across the state and sends the message that those who skirt the law for personal gain will be held accountable. Commissioner Boone and I will continue working together to root out tax fraud and bring cheaters to justice.”
“The defendant had an obligation to operate honestly and remit to the State all the sales tax he collected from his customers,” said Commissioner Boone. “He’ll now pay a stiff price for ignoring that obligation.”
Caloia, 45, of Syracuse, pleaded guilty before the Honorable Thomas J. Miller to the entire Indictment charging him with one count of Grand Larceny in the Second Degree and four counts of Criminal Tax Fraud in the Third Degree. As part of his plea, Caloia will be sentenced to 5 years’ probation.
Prior to pleading guilty, Caloia provided the Tax Department with a certified check for $128,769.40 in overdue sales taxes. Caloia must also pay an additional $317,746.43 to the Department of Taxation and Finance for penalties and interest which accrued during the time he failed to remit collected sales tax. Caloia’s sentencing is scheduled for August 28, 2015.
Caloia has been the owner and operator of Cookie Caloia Service Station, a Syracuse automotive shop which both sells and repairs automobiles, since 1993. An investigation by the Department of Taxation and Finance’s Criminal Investigations Division revealed that between June 1, 2007 and May 31, 2013, Caloia collected more than $128,000 in sales tax from consumers but did not remit any of this money to the Tax Department, as required by law. Caloia retained the money for his own personal use.
The case was initially investigated by the Department of Taxation and Finance’s Criminal Investigations Division, and then referred to the Attorney General’s office for further investigation and prosecution.
Assisting in the investigation were Attorney General Investigators Samuel Scotellaro and Joel Cordone, under the supervision of Deputy Chief Investigator Tony Karam. The Investigations Bureau is led by Chief Dominick Zarrella.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant Attorney General Andrew Tarkowski of the Criminal Enforcement and Financial Crimes Bureau. The Bureau is led by Bureau Chief Gary Fishman and Deputy Chiefs Stephanie Swenton and Meryl Lutsky. The Division of Criminal Justice is led by Executive Deputy Attorney General Kelly Donovan.
