The Department of Justice has charged a long time Hudson County politico with tax evasion, according to an announcement by U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito.

Thomas Bertoli, 62, of Matawan, has been charged with two counts of tax evasion, one count of corrupt interference with the administration of the Internal Revenue laws, and one count of failure to file a tax return.

A summons was issued for Bertoli to appear before a United States Magistrate Judge at a time to be scheduled.

Bertoli was at one time a political aide to Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop.

According to the complaint, Bertoli operated several businesses, including The Doormen Inc.; City Street Associates LLC, a/k/a CSA LLC; and Urban Logistics LLC.

Individually and through his companies, Bertoli obtained payments from clients for services provided, including payments from developers and construction firms for expediting services on real estate development and construction projects, primarily in Jersey City, as well as payments from political campaigns for political consulting services in New Jersey.

Expediting in the construction industry typically refers to facilitating the acquisition of building permits and other government agency approvals required for the completion of real estate projects.

The government alleges that Bertoli obtained hundreds of thousands of dollars in gross receipts from 2009 to 2016, but as of April 18, 2017, he had not filed federal tax returns or paid any of the taxes due other than a $5,000 nominal payment for those years in September 2014 .

He allegedly concealed and attempted to conceal from the IRS his income and assets through various means, including cashing payments from his clients at check cashers, making false and fraudulent statements to the IRS, and using the Urban Logistics bank account for personal expenditures.

“From at least in or about April 2014 to December 2016, defendant Bertoli transferred over a million dollars from the Urban Logistics bank account to his personal bank account to fund payments for personal expenses, including, among others, payments to his spouse and payments for real estate, the mortgage on his Matawan residence, travel expenses, a family member’s hair salon business, educational expenses for another family member, vehicles, and political donations,” said Kenneth K. Long, a Special Agent with the IRS in the criminal complaint.

“Typically, defendant Bertoli moved money from the Urban Logistics account into his personal account and thereafter made payments for personal expenses from his personal bank account, and did not leave high balances in the personal bank account for any extended period of time.”

Contributions to Hudson County politicians 

According to the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, Bertoli and his companies made several contributions to Hudson County Politicians.

In 2009 he contributed $500 to the election campaign of Thomas DeGise for Hudson County Executive, $500 to the election campaign of Mark Smith for mayor of Bayonne, $500 to Kenny Philip for municipal office in Jersey City,

In 2013, Urban Logistics made political contributions totaling $11,400 to various Hudson County political figures, including, in the words of the complaint, “Lavarro, Osborne, Gajewski, Ramchal, Watterman, Rivera, Coleman, Connors, & Lopez Team Fulop Jersey City Council.”

In 2014 Urban Logistics contributed $1,000 to “Roque, Rodriguez, Cirillo & Colacurcio (Vargas) Team Roque” in West New York.

In 2016 he contributed $500 to the campaign of Vincent Prieto for State Assembly.

He also donated to several political campaigns outside of Hudson County.

Bertoli is charged with tax evasion for calendar years 2009 to 2013 and evasion of assessment of taxes for calendar year 2014. He is also charged with corrupt interference with the administration of the Internal Revenue laws and failing to file a tax return for calendar year 2013.

Each charge of tax evasion carries a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The charge of corrupt interference with the administration of the Internal Revenue laws carries a maximum potential penalty of three years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The charge of failing to file a tax return carries a maximum potential penalty of one year in prison and a $100,000 fine.

U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Laura J. Perry and special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Douglas Korneski in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s charges.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys J Fortier Imbert and Jihee G. Suh of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Special Prosecutions Division.

The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are accusations, and Bertoli is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

For updates on this and other stories check www.hudsonreporter.com and follow us on Twitter @hudson_reporter. Marilyn Baer can be reached at Marilynb@hudsonreporter.com.

 

Former Chelsea striker Diego Costa is reportedly set to stand trial on charges of tax fraud in Spain next week.

The 31-year-old has been accused of failing to pay more than €1 million (£813,000) worth of taxes.

Costa is alleged to have not declared €5.15m (£4.19m) of total payments received when joining Chelsea in 2014, as well as €1m in image rights.

According to the Evening Standard, prosecutors are pushing for Costa to be put behind bars for a six-month period.

Such charges in Spain can be punished by a sentence in prison if the defendant is found guilty, though Costa is unlikely to be sent to jail.

If found guilty, Costa could pay an increased fine to avoid jail time.

As it stands he is already facing a fine of €507,208 (£457,128), which could be upped by a further €36,500 (£32,896).

Barcelona star Lionel Messi was previously convicted of tax fraud and handed a 21-month prison sentence, which was later reduced to a fine.

Cristiano Ronaldo also struck a similar deal with the Spanish courts during his time at Real Madrid which saw him pay a €19million fine.

Costa moved to Chelsea for a fee of £32million from Atletico Madrid, to whom he has since returned.

He has made 19 appearances so far this season, including both legs of their Champions League last-16 victory against Liverpool.

His future at the Wanda Metropolitano could be in doubt though, as Napoli are demanding he be included in a player-plus-cash deal that would see Arkadiusz Milik go the other way.

Costa is officially due to appear in court on June 4 – just a week before the La Liga season is due to resume again following the coronavirus outbreak.

Atletico are currently sixth in the table, but just two points separates them and Sevilla in third.

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Already charged with resorting to fraud and bribery to get his son into USC, John Wilson was indicted Tuesday on a new count of tax fraud, deepening the Massachusetts financier’s legal troubles and suggesting prosecutors have opened a new line of attack to pressure parents who have resisted plea deals.

For help getting his son into college, Wilson paid $220,000 in 2013 to William “Rick” Singer, a Newport Beach college admissions consultant who has admitted orchestrating a decade-long scheme to defraud some of the country’s most elite universities through doctored exams, fake athletic credentials and bribes.

Prosecutors allege Wilson was aware that Singer would misrepresent his son’s athletic prowess and intended to bribe Jovan Vavic, USC’s water polo coach. Wilson’s attorneys say the financier’s son was a bona fide water polo player and that Singer had led him to believe the payment was a legitimate donation to USC.

Wilson has pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud, bribery and money laundering, one of 15 parents who have maintained their innocence in the scandal. Prosecutors are trying to extradite a 16th parent who was arrested in Spain.

Seventeen parents have pleaded guilty to an array of fraud and money laundering charges. Vavic, fired by the university in March, has pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to commit racketeering, fraud and bribery.

Federal prosecutors in Massachusetts unsealed a new indictment Tuesday, alleging Wilson committed tax fraud when he wrote off the payments in 2014. The day after his son was admitted to USC as a water polo recruit, Wilson emailed Singer, thanked him for “making this happen” and asked if he could bill him for “consulting or whatever” so he could pay with a corporate account, the indictment says.

“Yes we can send you an invoice for business consulting fees and you may write off as an expense,” Singer wrote.

Wilson’s reply, according to an affidavit filed in federal court: “Awesome!”

Singer’s accountant, Steven Masera, emailed an invoice to an employee at Wilson’s firm, Hyannis Port Capital, requesting $20,000 be paid to Singer for a “professional development program” and $100,000 to Singer’s for-profit counseling company for “business consulting.” Masera also attached a letter thanking Wilson for a $100,000 contribution to Singer’s purported charity.

Once Wilson’s firm wired the $220,000, the indictment says, Singer sent Vavic a $100,000 cashier’s check, made out to the USC men’s water polo program. Wilson wrote off the payments as charitable donations and business expenses on his 2014 tax returns, underreporting his taxable income, prosecutors allege. Wilson’s attorney didn’t respond to a request for comment. Masera has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit racketeering and is cooperating with the government.

Wilson pursued a similar deal in 2018 for his twin daughters, whom he hoped to see matriculate at Stanford or Harvard, prosecutors say. Pressed by Singer — who by that point was cooperating with the government — to commit $1.2 million, Wilson’s firm wired $500,000 to Singer’s foundation in October 2018, the indictment says.

“It’s a $500k donation I am going to make this year,” Wilson wrote to his assistant in an email, according to the indictment. “Tax write off and help getting into colleges.”

His firm wired another $500,000 two months later.

Several of Singer’s clients deducted similar payments from their tax bills, according to charging documents filed in the case. Elisabeth Kimmel, charged with conspiring to have her children admitted to Georgetown and USC as phony athletes, wrote off $275,000 that her family’s charity paid to Singer’s foundation, according to an affidavit filed in federal court. The wife of Homayoun Zadeh, a dentistry professor, asked Singer to furnish them with a tax receipt for a $25,000 donation, the affidavit says.

Zadeh has been charged with conspiring to commit fraud, bribery and money laundering to have his daughter admitted to USC — where he chaired the periodontology department — as a fake lacrosse player. Kimmel and Zadeh have pleaded not guilty.

USC, meanwhile, parted ways Tuesday with three top officials in the athletic department: Steve Lopes, its chief operating and financial officer; Ron Orr, who led fundraising efforts; and Scott Jacobson, who also worked in fundraising.

Turkey is one the most preferred countries among football players as the income tax rate in the country is lower than that in Europe, a professor said.

In December, the Turkish parliament approved a code that football players in Turkey’s Super Lig will be tied to 15 percent income tax until Dec. 31, 2019.

“So many European football players and managers prefer Turkey because of low tax rates,” said Sebahattin Devecioğlu, associate professor at Faculty of Sports Sciences in Fırat University.

He stated that the aim of lowering the tax rate is to boost the quality of Turkish Süper Lig by attracting more European stars.

Back-to-back Süper Lig champions Beşiktaş signed 32-year-old Spanish striker Alvaro Negredo, who had played for Spain’s Real Madrid and Valencia, and English Premier League title contender Manchester City.

Süper Lig title contenders Galatasaray signed 32-year-old French striker Bafetimbi Gomis. During his career, Gomis played for French clubs Olympique Lyon and Olympique Marseille and England’s Swansea City.

Fenerbahçe added 33-year-old French winger Mathieu Valbuena, who has played for Olympique Marseille and Olympique Lyon.

Increasing brand value

In addition to Valbuena, Fenerbahçe strengthened their offense with 32-year-old Spanish striker Roberto Soldado. He is a former player of English club Tottenham Hotspur and Real Madrid. He has also played for Spain’s Valencia before moving to Tottenham.

Additionally, French left-back Gael Clichy joined Istanbul-based club Medipol Başakşehir in July 2017. The 32-year-old defender previously played for English Premier League clubs Arsenal and Manchester City.

“The regulations like this are needed for developing and supporting sports in Turkey and increasing brand value of the league”, Devecioğlu added.

Players in Germany, Spain, Italy and England, where level of competition is higher than the Turkish Süper Lig, are paying more income tax than their co-workers in Turkey.

KPMG Football Benchmark’s video revealed that the expenditure of the Turkish club for a player, who earns net 1 million euros ($1.18 million) per annum, is 1.19 million euros ($1.41 million).

Meanwhile this figure in Germany tallies 1.9 million euros ($2.25 million). In Spain the cost is nearly similar to the one in Germany, as the figure is 1.91 million euros ($2.26 million). In Italy this figure has boosted to 1.97 million euros ($2.33 million) and it climbs to 2.12 million euros ($2.51 million) in England.

However, France is holding the record cost since a player in the French top division Ligue 1, who bags net 1 million euros per year, costs 2.74 million euros ($3.24 million) to his club.

Tax fraud claims

Devecioğlu also talked about tax fraud claims in Europe as several star players such as Barcelona forward Lionel Messi, Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo and defender Marcelo and midfielder Luka Modric were accused of tax evasion.

“Last year Panama files were published. Barcelona striker Lionel Messi and his father, who is Messi’s agent, faced court over tax evasion claims for investing his income in offshore banks,” he added.

Messi was found guilty for exploiting his image rights that he earned in 2007, 2008 and 2009. Messi and his father Jorge Horacio were charged for defrauding Spain of 4.1 million euros ($4.85 million).

The court in Barcelona found out that the duo used tax havens in Belize and Uruguay.

Messi rejected tax evasion claims but the court gave him 21-month prison sentence. Later, a Supreme Court in Spain swapped the jail sentence with the fine.

The professor said insufficient legislative regulations have led to the formation of an informal economy in football. “Money laundering is still there in football and this cannot be controlled.”