Local Restaurateur​ Changing Plea In Tax Fraud Case: Feds

WAYNE, PA – Arde Osteria co-owner and area restaurateur Giuseppe "Pino" DiMeo will reportedly change his not guilty plea regarding federal tax fraud charges, according to IRS officials.

DiMeo initially entered a not guilty plea to charges of conspiring to defraud the IRS and 12 counts of filing false tax returns.

According to IRS officials, DiMeo will change his plea at a Sept. 14 court appearance. What the plea will be has yet to be determined, IRS officials said.

The indictment filed against DiMeo alleges that he conspired with his business partners at restaurants in Wilmington, Delaware and Philadelphia to defraud the IRS of income taxes and payroll taxes between 2008 and 2012.

In that time DiMeo allegedly had over $3 million in unreported gross receipts and failed to pay to the IRS approximately $1 million in income taxes and payroll taxes, according to the charging indictment.

He is accused of skimming cash from his restaurants DiMeo’s Pizzaiuoli Napulitani in Wilmington, Delaware and Pizzeria DiMeo’s in Roxborough, Philadelphia and not reporting that cash to the IRS.

Additionally, he is accused of paying employees under the table and failing to tell his accountant or the IRS about his businesses’ cash payroll.

If convicted, DiMeo faces a maximum possible sentence of 46 years of imprisonment, three years of supervised release, a $3.5 million fine, and a $1,400 special assessment, Lappen's office said.

The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Maria M. Carrillo and Tiwana L. Wright

Image via Shutterstock