NY Tax Dodging State Senator Gets 2 years at Club Fed

The New York Daily News is reporting that the former State Senator convicted on multiple counts of tax evasion who offered his services as a diplomat in lieu of jail, was sentenced to 2 years at the nearby Club Fed instead.  The story:

"[L]ongtime state legislator who admitted evading taxes and trying to influence a grand jury was sentenced Friday to nearly two years in prison.  Former state Sen. Vincent Leibell pleaded guilty in December, resigning after 28 years in the state Legislature.  Federal guidelines suggest a sentence of 18 to 24 months, and prosecutors had asked for the upper limit. The judge decided on 21 months.

Leibell had suggested that instead of prison, he be assigned to an American "nation-building team" in the Middle East. The Department of Justice called that request absurd, and the judge didn't mention it at sentencing.
Leibell, a Republican, had been elected Putnam County executive a month before his guilty plea. He gave up that post as well as the last month of his Senate term.

He admitted he filed false tax returns for 2003 through 2006.  Leibell spent 12 years in the Assembly before his 16 years in the Senate. The felony convictions don't affect his public pension, estimated at about $70,000 a year."

NASCAR Driver, Tax Cheat

According to a report at the Richmond Times-Dispatch  ex-NASCAR champ Tommy Ellis and wife are going to jail for tax fraud.  

Ellis, a two-time Busch series champ ran a couple of "Buzz Thru" car washes with his wife.  After the Ellis' put the operations up for sale they were contacted by an undercover IRS agent. Pretending to be interested in the purchase of the car washes, the agent was able to obtain evidence from Ellis who bragged that the washes generated alot more cash than they were reporting to the IRS.

The couple was actively hiding cash earned by maintaining two sets of books which Tommy Ellis showed the agent.  His wife was actively involved in creating the accounting records.

The motivation appears to have been to maintain a measure of luxury beyong any reasonable expectation of necessity or debt.  As Ellis said in Court, there was "no reason" for the crime.