West Caldwell Cigar Emporium Owner Didn’t Pay $442K In Taxes: Prosecutor

WEST CALDWELL, NJ — Authorities have charged a Belleville man who operates cigar shops in West Caldwell and Lyndhurst with allegedly failing to pay the state $442,000 in taxes.

According to the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office, the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau obtained a state grand jury indictment on Friday charging Richard Yanuzzi, 52, of Belleville, and his company, Sparroween LLC, on second-degree charges of theft by unlawful taking and misapplication of entrusted property.

Yanuzzi also was charged with a second-degree count of misconduct by a corporate official. In addition, Yanuzzi and Sparroween were charged with multiple third-degree counts of failure to file tax returns, failure to pay taxes and filing false returns.

The charges were the result of a joint investigation by the Division of Taxation Office of Criminal Investigation (OCI) and the New Jersey State Police Official Corruption North Squad.

According to prosecutors, Yanuzzi operates two cigar shops in Lyndhurst and West Caldwell, doing business at each location under the name “Cigar Emporium.” An examination of Yanuzzi’s bank accounts by OCI revealed that from 2012 to 2016, Yanuzzi allegedly failed to report and pay approximately $442,000 in sales and tobacco products taxes for his businesses, while also failing to file any state income tax returns or pay any state income taxes for himself during the same period.

Prosecutors charge that an examination of Yanuzzi’s business bank account deposits between 2012 and 2015 allegedly revealed nearly a $1.7 million shortfall in reported sales. This resulted in a loss of approximately $115,000 in unremitted sales tax owed to the state. The investigation also revealed that Yanuzzi and Sparroween allegedly filed no sales tax returns from the third quarter of 2014 to the first quarter of 2016 and filed false sales tax returns for the first quarter of 2012, the third quarter of 2013 and the second quarter of 2014, all of which under-reported sales.

Prosecutors also allege that Yanuzzi and Sparroween filed no tobacco products tax returns from June 2015 to March 2016, and filed false tobacco products tax returns from February 2012 to May 2015, resulting in a failure to pay approximately $327,000 in taxes owed to the state.

In addition, Yanuzzi allegedly never registered the second cigar shop he opened in West Caldwell with the Division of Taxation, as required by law. For that alleged omission, he is charged with a fourth-degree count of engaging in conduct requiring licensure or registration without licensure or registration.

Photo: Flickr Commons, John Tedesco