Executives At Youngstown Construction Company Sent To Prison For Tax Conviction

Two officials at a Youngstown construction and excavation company were each sentenced to nearly two years in prison for willfull failure to pay taxes, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.

Scott Bonamase, age 49, of Streetsboro, Ohio, and David Bonamase, age 53, of Canfield, Ohio, were sentenced to 21 months in prison after they avoided paying more than $279,000 in taxes, according to the indictment.

The charges were in connection with their operation of A. Bonamase Contracting, Inc., which employed between 10 to 25 employees for the years 2006 through 2009. During that time period, Scott Bonamase willfully under-reported employee gross wages to the Internal Revenue Service and Scott and David Bonamase omitted payments to employees in the books and records of the company, according to court documents.

A. Bonamase Contracting, Inc. had contracts with government agencies that required certified payroll reports to verify that they were paying the prevailing wage. Scott and David Bonamase willfully falsified, signed, and submitted certified payroll reports to the government. Scott and David Bonamase certified that their employees were being paid the prevailing when, in fact, they were paid less, according to court documents.

The case results from an investigation conducted by the United States Department of Labor and Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of the Inspector General and the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation agents. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Henry F. DeBaggis.