A 77-year-old former Town of Oyster Bay planning commissioner was sentenced Wednesday to 2 ¼ years in prison for federal tax evasion when he failed to report $2 million in outside income.
Frederick Ippolito, of Syosset, had pleaded guilty at Central Islip federal court in January. Leonard Wexler also sentenced Ippolito to three years of supervised release and ordered him to pay $548,487.00 in restitution.
“The defendant’s position as an influential official within a local municipality did not exempt him from paying his fair share of taxes, just like any other citizen,” said Robert Capers, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.
Prosecutors said Ippolito received over $2 million in consulting fees from Old Bethpage-based Carlo Lizza & Sons Paving, Inc. and from being a principal of that company but willfully failed to report it on his personal tax returns or the returns of entities he controlled from 2008 to 2013.
As the town commissioner of planning and development, he was responsible for the enforcement of all codes, rules, and ordinances pertaining to building and zoning, and supervised the issuance of permits for construction. He resigned following his guilty plea.
