Former Charlie Browns CEO Sentenced to 2 Yrs

UPDATE: TRENTON – Russell D'Anton, the former president and CEO of the Charlie Brown's restaurant chain, was sentenced to 24 months in prison by a Trenton judge Thursday on counts of tax evasion and mail fraud.

At the plea hearing on Feb. 4, 2010, D'Anton said that he and another Charlie Brown's executive, Michael Mulligan, conspired to award contracts to vendors from as early as 1999 through 2008. Kickbacks from the vendors totalled an excess of $1 million in the form of cash, checks, gifts and in-kind payments, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office.

D'Anton also said that he hid the payments from Charlie Brown's and omitted them from his tax returns. These kickbacks included an additional income of $123,000 that should have been included in his 2005 federal tax return.

Mulligan pleaded guilty on Feb. 1, 2010 to charges of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and tax evasion.

D'Anton will appear before U.S. District Court Judge Mary L. Cooper. He could be sentenced to as much as 20 years in federal prison and $250,000 on the mail fraud charge, and 5 years in prison and an additional $250,000 on the tax evasion charge.