Car dealership owner admits state tax fraud
Renzo Tiburzi, the owner of a Buffalo car dealership, pleaded guilty Friday to cheating the state out of $220,815.83 in sales tax receipts after opening his business almost six years ago.
Tiburzi pleaded guilty before State Supreme Court Justice John L. Michalski to a third-degree grand larceny charge under a plea arrangement worked out by his attorney, Joel L. Daniels, to spare Tiburzi, 60, of Patton Lane, Amherst, a subsequent indictment.
Tiburzi, the owner of Buffalo Automotive on Military Road, which he is in the process of closing, presented a certified check for $50,000 to officials of the state Department of Taxation and Finance.
At the demand of Erie County financial crimes prosecutor Susan H. Sadinsky, Tiburzi also signed a confession of judgment legally obligating him to fully repay the state agency the additional $170,815.83 in sales tax receipts he collected from customers and never passed on to the state.
Michalski said Tiburzi could be placed on probation at his sentencing next May 31 but warned that he also faces a possible state prison term of up to seven years on his plea.
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