Four locals convicted on tax fraud charges
Published on July 5th, 2006
STONEHAM, MA - Four locals were recently convicted in a bench trial reportedly concerning forged documents to aid a local company in evading taxes and obstructing an IRS audit by Stoneham Towing Inc. and Bodyworks Company Inc., a pair of local businesses both operated by Stephen Mazzolla of Wakefield.
According to the US District Attorneys’ Office, four local business owners reportedly conspired to create fraudulent documents to derail an audit of a Stoneham business by the Internal Revenue Service, and were recently convicted on all charges related to the case.
Mazzolla, age 40, of 25 Howard Street, Wakefield, and Christina M. Svendsen, age 34, of 161 Arkansas Road, Tewksbury, were both convicted on conspiracy charges stemming from their roles in reportedly “paying company employees cash wages under the table”, “concealing cash income” and “producing false records to obstruct an IRS audit of the companies”, according to officials in the US District Attorney’s office.
In addition to those two convictions, Anthony Dana Marek, age 50, of 12 Keene Street, Stoneham, and James S. Konaxis, age 51, of 15 Dell Drive, Wilmington, were each convicted on individual counts of obstruction of an IRS audit for their roles in preparing bogus sales invoices to support Mazzolla’s claims during the IRS audit.
Konaxis, the owner of Spartan Auto Parts Inc. of Stoneham, and Marek, an independent distributor for Snap-On Tools, could both face up to three years in prison with up to a year of supervision following release, as well as a $250,000 fine.
Both local businessmen reportedly fabricated bogus sales invoices to aid Mazzolla in his reported attempts to evade his income tax bill.
In addition, Mazzolla and Svendsen were each convicted of separate counts of obstructing an IRS audit and Mazzolla was also convicted on four counts of filing false quarterly employment tax returns.
In addition to the aforementioned possible jailtime and fine, Mazzolla and Svendsen could be facing an additional five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, as well as an additional three years in prison and $250,000 fine for Mazzolla for reportedly filing the false quarterly tax returns.
US District Attorney Michael Sullivan, Special Agent in Charge of the US Internal Revenue Service (Criminal Investigations) Douglas Bricker, and Chief of Investigations for the Insurance Fraud Bureau of Massachusetts Anthony DiPaolo, announced the convictions following a six-week bench trial by US District Judge Richard G. Stearns. Stearns had previously acquitted co-defendants Frank V. Messina Jr. and Sebastian J. Mazzolla of similar charges.
Sentencing is set for Oct. 4, 2006.The US IRS, Criminal Investigation and the Insurance Fraud Bureau of Massachusetts investigated the case. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant US Attorney Victor A. Wild in Sullivan’s Economic Crimes Unit and Trial Attorney Timothy D. Belevetz with the Department of Justice’s Tax Division.
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