FOUNDER AND FORMER ACCOUNTANT OF ASPHALT COMPANY CHARGED WITH SCHEME TO HIDE TAXABLE SALES FROM THE STATE

FOUNDER AND FORMER ACCOUNTANT OF ASPHALT COMPANY CHARGED WITH SCHEME TO HIDE TAXABLE SALES FROM THE STATE

Defendants Allegedly Submitted False Records of the Company’s Sales to the Department of Revenue in Order to Obstruct an Audit of Taxable Sales

 

BOSTON – A West Wareham asphalt company, its founder, and its former accountant have been charged in connection with a scheme to hide the company’s taxable sales by falsifying financial records with the state’s Department of Revenue (DOR), Attorney General Maura Healey announced today.

A Suffolk County Grand Jury indicted the founder of Rochester Bituminous Products (RBP) Inc., Albert Todesca, age 69, of Mashpee, and its former accountant, Christopher Polito, age 37, of Dedham, on charges of Tax Evasion (1 count each), Delivering or Disclosing False Documents to the DOR (1 count each), Obstruction of the Administration of the DOR (1 count each), Conspiracy to Commit Tax Evasion (1 count each), Conspiracy to Disclose False Documents to the DOR (1 count each), and Conspiracy to Obstruct the Administration of the Tax Laws (1 count each).

The company was also indicted on the charges of Tax Evasion (1 count), Delivering or Disclosing False Documents to the DOR (1 count), and Obstruction of the Administration of the Tax Laws (1 count).

The defendants will be arraigned on the charges at a later date.

While Todesca, who founded RBP, held no official title with the company, the AG’s Office alleges he exercised control over the corporation. Through his direction, RBP evaded substantial sales taxes over the 2011-2013 time period for taxes owed for the sale of asphalt. The AG’s Office further alleges Todesca and Polito, the company’s former accountant, committed the scheme by evading sales taxes when they were due and submitting numerous false documents to the DOR from 2014-2017, in an effort to obstruct an audit of the company. The AG’s Office specifically alleges that at the direction of Todesca, Polito altered the documents to falsely indicate sales were made to entities that were exempt from the state’s 6.25 percent sales tax.

State law exempts certain entities from paying the sales tax, including federal and state government entities, as well as religious, scientific, charitable or educational organizations. The AG’s Office alleges sales Polito detailed in the falsified documents were made to non-exempt private entities.

These indictments follow charges the AG’s Office brought against Polito in connection with the investigation in November.

This investigation is ongoing. These charges are allegations and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

This case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant Attorney General Bensen Solivan of the DOR and Assistant Attorney General Edward A. Beagan of the AG’s White Collar and Public Integrity Division with assistance from investigators from the DOR’s Criminal Investigations Bureau including Investigator Lisa Dell’Anno, and the Massachusetts State Police assigned to the AG’s Office.