Putnam County Business Owner Sentenced On Felony Tax Charges
New York State Department of Taxation and Finance Commissioner Thomas H. Mattox announced that the owner of two masonry supply yards was sentenced on felony sales tax charges for collecting more than $1 million in state and local sales taxes from clients, but failing to report or remit the money to New York State and Putnam County over a five year period.
William Dring, 54, of Mahopac, and his former company, Taconic Stone, Inc., were sentenced by Judge James T. Rooney of the Putnam County Court. Dring had earlier pled guilty to the charge of Grand Larceny in the Third Degree, a class D felony, for not remitting to the State more than $1 million in sales taxes between March 2005 and February 2010. Taconic Stone, also known as Putnam Stone & Mason Supply, had pled guilty to the charge of Grand Larceny in the First Degree, a class B felony.
Dring was sentenced to six months incarceration and five years probation. Also, both he and Taconic Stone were ordered to pay more than one million dollars in criminal restitution to the State.
Commissioner Mattox said, “Customers trust that businesses collect sales tax on behalf of the state and local governments. When a business uses those funds for other purposes, it is violating that trust and creating an unfair advantage over law-abiding businesses. Our Department will continue to work with local enforcement authorities to prosecute such businesses to the fullest extent of the law.”
Commissioner Mattox commended Putnam County District Attorney Adam Levy and Chief Assistant District Attorney Christopher York for their aggressive prosecution of this case.
The above is a press release issued by the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance.
Adam has worked in the local news industry for the past two decades in Westchester County and the broader Hudson Valley. Read more from Adam’s author bio here.
