| July 25, 2003
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MAN SENTENCED IN FEDERAL TAX OFFENSE
Kevin J. O'Connor, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut,
announced that RUSSELL MAHLER, Sr., a 78 year old resident of Clinton,
was sentenced today for violating federal tax laws in a proceeding before
United States District Judge Janet Bond Arterton in New Haven to 18 months
imprisonment, a fine of $40,000 and a three year period of supervised
release.
Previously, on March 11, 2003, MAHLER pleaded guilty to conspiring to
impede the functions of the Internal Revenue Service. As was revealed
in court proceedings during the plea, , MAHLER, along with his son Russell
Mahler, II, who also pleaded guilty to the same charges in March and has
been sentenced by Judge Arterton to one year and a day incarceration,
operated a chain of about six gasoline/convenience stores at various locations
in Connecticut during the prosecution years of 1994 through 2001. The
MAHLER'S admitted to paying a substantial portion of many of their employee's
wages in cash and failing to pay over to the Internal Revenue Service
the payroll taxes that would have been due on those wages. The tax loss
to the Government from this scheme totaled about $247,000. RUSSELL MAHLER,
Sr., also acknowledge evading about $46,000 in his personal income taxes
during that period.
In addition to his sentence, MAHLER will also be responsible for payment
of all back taxes along with penalties and interest. He was ordered as
a condition of supervised release to cooperate with the Internal Revenue
Service and file all necessary tax returns or amended returns to facilitate
payment of back taxes.
"This case is an example of the commitment of the United States Attorney's
Office to work along with the Internal Revenue Service to assure compliance
with our tax laws," stated U.S. Attorney O'Connor. "Our office
is determined to vigorously enforce these laws to insure that tax obligations
are fairly shared by all taxpayers."
The case was investigated by Special Agents of the Internal Revenue Service
and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Peter A. Clark.
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