United States Attorney's Office District of Connecticut
Press Release

BOWLING ALLEY OWNER PLEADS GUILTY TO TAX EVASION
Wolcott man failed to pay more than $800,000 to the IRS

Kevin J. O’Connor, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that CHARLES W. LANZA, age 51, of 59 Coe Road, Wolcott, Connecticut, waived indictment and pleaded guilty today to income tax evasion and conspiring to defraud the Internal Revenue Service. United States District Judge Christopher F. Droney accepted LANZA’s pleas of guilty this afternoon in Hartford federal court.

According to documents filed with the Court and statements made in court, LANZA is the owner of several bowling alleys and bars in Connecticut, including Bristol Ten Pin in Bristol, Lakewood Lanes in Waterbury and T-Bowl in Wallingford. In pleaded guilty, LANZA admitted that, from 1998 to 2002, he devised a scheme and conspired with others to skim a portion of the cash profits generated by the businesses and failed to report more than $2.3 million in income to the Internal Revenue Service. LANZA admitted that he concealed the receipt of this taxable income, retained the income for his personal use, and caused the preparation, signing and filing of federal tax returns resulting in an underpayment to the IRS of $806,087.

LANZA today admitted that he instructed certain employees of his businesses to take money received from the cash registers, certain bowling promotions, vending machines, game machines, pool tables, and other sources of cash income, place these monies in a bag, and have the bag delivered to him on a weekly basis. LANZA then kept the money for his personal use. LANZA recorded the amount of skimmed cash in several notebooks that he has provided to the IRS.

LANZA also admitted that he paid for certain personal expenses with his corporate credit card and later deducted those expenses on his tax returns.

To date, LANZA has paid $750,000 to the IRS in partial satisfaction of this debt. LANZA has also agreed to allow $135,448.45 that was seized by the IRS from LANZA’s home, businesses and safe deposit boxes to be applied to his civil tax liability, which is estimated to be more than $1.6 million.

Judge Droney has scheduled sentencing for December 22, 2005, at which time LANZA faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years and a fine of up to $1,612,174.

“This case should serve as a warning to anyone who operates a cash business,” U.S. Attorney O’Connor stated. “If you fail to accurately report and pay federal taxes, you will be prosecuted, and the penalties are severe.”

This case was investigated by agents with the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Raymond F. Miller.

CONTACT:

U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Tom Carson
(203) 821-3722
thomas.carson@usdoj.gov