02-22-06 -- Foy Sr., Joseph -- Guilty Plea -- News Release
Former Burlington Township Mayor Pleads Guilty to Four Counts of Tax Evasion
CAMDEN – Joseph Foy Sr., the former mayor of Burlington Township, pleaded guilty today to a four-count Information charging tax evasion for his failure to claim income derived from for-profit golf tournaments during tax years 1999 through 2002, U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie announced.
Foy, 67, of Burlington Twp., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Freda L. Wolfson to four counts of Tax evasion. Judge Wolfson scheduled sentencing for June 1.
At his plea hearing, Foy admitted that between 1999 and 2002 he was the elected mayor of Burlington Township and was associated with a business known as Electrical Construction Installation Consultants (ECIC). Foy admitted that during the time period covered in the charges, he operated a for-profit golf tournament advertised as the “ECIC Mayor’s Cup Golf Tournament.” Foy admitted that each year he derived income from the golf tournament and deposited the funds into his personal bank accounts and used the money to pay for personal expenses.
Furthermore, Foy admitted that he owed federal income tax on the income he derived from the golf tournaments. He admitted that for tax years 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002, he attempted to evade and defeat the federal tax owed on the income he derived from the golf tournaments by failing to report the income on his joint Individual Income Tax Returns. Foy admitted, that over the four tax years, he failed to report additional income totaling $52,944, which resulted in additional taxes owed totaling $19,696.
Foy was released on a $10,000 personal recognizance bond pending sentencing.
Each count of tax evasion carries a statutory maximum prison sentence of five years, and a fine of up to $100,000; or twice the gross amount of any pecuniary gain that any persons derived from the offense; or twice the gross amount of any pecuniary loss sustained by any victims of the offense, which ever is greatest.
In determining an actual sentence, Judge Wolfson will consult the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide a formula that takes into account the severity and characteristics of the offense, and the defendant’s criminal history, if any. Parole has been abolished in the federal system. Under the advisory Sentencing Guidelines, defendants who are given custodial terms may have to serve nearly all that time.
Christie credited Special Agents of the IRS Criminal Investigation Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Patricia J. Haynes, in Newark, for investigation of the case.
The government is represented by Deputy U.S. Attorney William E. Fitzpatrick, in Camden.
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Defense Attorney: Carl Poplar, Esq. Cherry Hill