No word yet on why agents seized tax records of ‘Wife Swap’ couple
Published: June 04, 2009, 12:30 am
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A lawyer representing the Amherst couple involved in the ABC television reality program “ Wife Swap” said federal officials have not disclosed what they were looking for when they seized business records Tuesday.
Rodney O. Personious said all he knows is that business and tax records were seized from the home and business of Ralph and Karen Guastaferro.
“Nobody was charged with anything,” Personious said. “The simple fact that a warrant was issued is no kind of reliable indicator.”
Personious confirmed the federal warrants were served at the couple’s home at 86 Stonybrook Lane in Amherst and Eclipse Glass Tinting & Alarm, 8825 Main St., Clarence.
Agents from the FBI and the criminal division of the Internal Revenue Service spent much of the day Tuesday carrying boxes out of the home and business.
Federal spokesmen declined to comment.
The Guastaferros attracted attention in January 2008 when they appeared on the ABC program “Wife Swap” with an Indiana couple.
The Guastaferros later sued ABC, Walt Disney Co., YouTube and the program’s producers after videos of the show, the couple claimed, made them look foolish because of the emphasis on their lavish lifestyle and pampering of their 15-year-old daughter.
They withdrew their suit in April after a federal judge threatened to dismiss the case because the Guastaferros had failed to pursue it.
mbeebe@buffnews.com
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