OWNER OF YANKEE TAVERN ARRESTED AND CHARGED WITH EVADING MORE THAN $1,000,000 IN BUSINESS AND PERSONAL TAXES OWED TO THE CITY AND STATE
Bronx District Attorney Robert T. Johnson announced today the arrest of the owner of Joe Bastone’s Yankee Tavern, a popular bar and grill near Yankee Stadium, on various charges of tax evasion, while the corporate entity of which Bastone is President and Chief Executive Officer, was charged with evading corporate, sales and payroll taxes owed to the City of New York and the State of New York. The total dollar amount involved in these crimes is approximately $1,000,000 million dollars.
Bastone appeared before State Supreme Court Justice Steven Barrett after surrendering with his attorney to Bronx District Attorney Detective Investigators. Today’’s arrest is the result of a two year joint investigation with the New York City Department of Finance.
Bastone, 55,of Bronxville, New York, was charged with one count of Grand Larceny in the 3rd degree, one count of Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the 1st degree, one count of False Returns or Reports, and one count of False Returns or Reports; Corporate Taxes in violation of New York City Administrative Code 11-4004 (a). Grand Larceny in the 3rd degree, the most serious offense, is a Class C felony offense punishable by a maximum sentence of up to 15 years imprisonment.
Joe Bastone’s Yankee Tavern, the corporate entity, at 72 East 161st Street, the Bronx, was charged with one count of Grand Larceny in the 2nd degree, one count of Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the 1st degree, one count of False Returns or Reports; Corporate Taxes, and one count of False Returns or Reports in violation of New York City Administrative Code 11-4004 (b). The most serious offense charged against Yankee Tavern, the corporate entity, is Grand Larceny in the 2nd degree, a Class C felony offense. If convicted of that offense Yankee Tavern would be facing amaximum penalty of up to $250,000 in fines.
According to court papers, the charges stemmed from an audit by the New York City Department of Finance of the Yankee Tavern’s business records, customer receipts, and financial ledgers from January 1, 2002 through May 1, 2007. City auditors also examined corporate tax returns filed by Yankee Tavern for the calendar years 2002 through 2006. It is alleged that comparisons of the business records and tax returns revealed that the tax documents contained false statements and false information, in that the “defendants’ tax returns indicated gross sales and profit less than the amount of gross sales and profit indicated in the business records recovered.”
District Attorney Johnson thanked the following for the hard work that resulted in this successful prosecution: Michael Hyman, Assistant Commissioner for Tax, Audit, Policy and Enforcement and members of Hyman’s staff at the New York City Department of Finance Office of Tax Enforcement, Assistant District Attorney Thomas Kapp, Chief of the Arson/Auto/Economic Crimes Bureau, Assistant District Attorney Ann Marie Cherry, of the Arson/Auto/Economic Crimes Bureau, Bronx D.A. Detective Investigators Juan Crosas Medina, Brad Waterman, and Detective Investigator Henry Nurse, Director of Security.
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