The ex-Democratic leader for the Town of North Hempstead has admitted to federal tax evasion for failing to pay about $1 million in taxes.
Gerard Terry, an attorney who held numerous local government titles in addition to his former party leadership role, pleaded guilty to tax evasion Thursday at Central Islip federal court.
Prosecutors have said the 62-year-old Roslyn man failed to pay more than $1.4 million in federal taxes since 2000 despite earning more than $250,000 annually working for the town, the Nassau County Board of Elections, the Long Beach Housing Authority, the North Hempstead Housing Authority, the Freeport Community Development Agency, the Roosevelt Public Library, the Village of Port Washington and the Village of Manorhaven.
After the IRS pursued him, he filed paperwork that included false information, but still failed to file returns for 2009 and 2010 and later provided false, misleading and incomplete information to obstruct internal revenue laws, authorities said. He then tried to evade IRS collections by cashing more than a half million dollars worth of checks instead of depositing them in bank accounts where they could be seized, according to investigators. He instead only deposited enough to cover his bills, making it impossible for the IRS to collect.
The guilty plea comes two weeks after he pleaded guilty to similar charges in Nassau County court. He faces up to five years in prison and $100,000 in fines.
