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Spano pleads guilty to underpaying income taxes by $53,000
over
multi-year period
For immediate release Contact: Jim Cavanaugh
February 10, 2010 (914) 261-2888
(518) 694-8216
Today Nick Spano pleaded guilty in federal district court in
White Plains, NY to a one-count
Information charging him under Title 26 Section 7212(a) with
underreporting his income
between 2000 and 2008. Mr. Spano and the government agree that
this resulted in a $42,419
underpayment of Mr. Spanos federal income taxes and a $ 10,605
underpayment of his New
York State income taxes. The offense carries a minimum sense of
probation and a maximum
sentence of three years imprisonment.
Said Spano:
Today is obviously not a good day for me or my family, but I
want to be honest and open about it. I did
not pay all the income taxes that I should have. For this I am
sorry and I take full responsibility.
Ive been very lucky to have the chance to help a lot of people
during my life, whether it was the people
of my Senate district, the developmentally disabled who counted
on me to be their advocate, or the
clients I have served since leaving the Senate. I apologize to
anyone I have let down, and I look forward
to making this right in the eyes of the court.
Said Levitt:
When he asked for our help Nick Spano was clear that he would
take full responsibility for any
wrongdoing, but that he would also fight any allegations that
were untrue. Today he has done that by
agreeing to a resolution with the U.S. Attorney that ends these
matters by acknowledging a failure to
properly report income. The amount of unpaid taxes is not
insignificant, but it is also not the type of
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Spano Plea
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offense that normally brings this much attention. Nick Spano has
a lifetime of serving the people. I hope
that his record of service and accomplishments will be taken
into account as people consider his failure
to properly report his income.
Questions have been asked regarding language in the Information
that suggest the
governments investigation extended beyond the underreporting of
income. Levitt, Mr. Spanos
attorney, explained, An information is a charging document that
is not returned by a grand jury but
rather is written by the United States Attorneys Office, and the
government has complete control overits content. Mr. Spanos guilty
plea, however, concerned only the charge that he underreported
his
income. The firm policy of the United States Attorneys Office is
to require that any plea agreement
include a plea to the greatest offense the government believes
it can sustain. After several frank
discussions between the government and Mr. Spanos counsel it was
agreed that the appropriate
disposition was a plea to a tax-related offense.
Nick Spano enjoyed a distinguished 28-year career in the New
York State Legislature. Senator Spano was
first elected at the age of 25 to the State Assembly. In 1986,
he was elected to the State Senate, where
he served for 20 years. During his tenure, Spano rose to the
senior ranks of the Legislature, serving as
the Senior Assistant Majority Leader. He was particularly known
for his advocacy on behalf of people
with mental illness and developmental disabilities, and
regularly fought for funding for those vulnerable
populations in the face of proposed budget cuts. He was
instrumental in obtaining funding for local
schools, and was heavily involved in the rescue of the
Westchester Medical Center during its financial
crisis several years ago. As a senator , Spano was known for his
close working relationships with
members of the New York State Legislature on both sides of the
aisle, in both houses.
After leaving the Senate, Mr. Spano founded Empire Strategic
Planning, a consulting and lobbying firm
specializing in state and government relations in New York.
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