Ex-Irondequoit police chief's security firm dodged taxes with cash payments to officers
The security firm once co-owned by former Irondequoit Police Chief Alan Laird long paid cash to its part-time-security guards, many of them off-duty police officers, according to court papers.
That practice, which Laird alleges existed before he became a partner in the company in 2015, would have allowed the company's security officers to dodge paying taxes on their part-time income.
Laird and his former business partner, Steven Rosenbaum, are scheduled to be sentenced for tax crimes in federal court Dec. 20.
In September both Laird and Rosenbaum admitted to defrauding the Internal Revenue Service out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. In the pleas the two co-owners of Swoop 1 admitted that some employees had been paid in cash, but the plea did not include the detail now laid out in pre-sentence court papers.
Laird's attorney, James Nobles, filed a 112-page filing which highlights Laird's long career as a police officer and Irondequoit chief and his accomplishments. The filing also includes letters from family and former colleagues speaking of Laird's character and encouraging leniency from U.S. District Judge Elizabeth Wolford.
Nobles and Laird say in the court papers that:
Laird became a partner in 2015, buying out the interest of former co-owner James Frascati for $300,000.
"Once Mr. Laird was in the business formally as a partner, he realized that full-time employees’ payroll records were kept appropriately, however, for part-time employees, payroll records were 'off-the-books.' "
Laird was told the company could not entice part-time police and others were they to be paid legally and legitimately.
"Although Mr. Laird knew this practice was wrong — he did not challenge it at the time, but did have significant conversations with Rosenbaum about transitioning more and more of their employees’ payroll on the books as the company progressed."
Swoop 1's workforce continued to grow over the next six years — it has employed hundreds of security guards — which "only exacerbated the issue."
What is unclear is whether the IRS is continuing any investigation into Swoop security officers who may have illegally dodged taxes on their income. The IRS does not acknowledge whether an investigation is ongoing, and unpaid taxes could invoke civil or criminal penalties.
Under federal sentencing guidelines, which are advisory, Laird and Rosenbaum both face 18 to 24 months in prison. (The plea agreement originally called for 24 to 30 months but a change in the guidelines altered the proposed sentences.)
Both men are asking U.S. District Judge Elizabeth Wolford to agree to a sentence with no prison time. Rosenbaum is also a former Irondequoit police officer, and both men have highlighted their community service with the department in pre-sentence filings.
Rosenbaum also has serious health ailments, having suffered a stroke in ()
Attorneys for both men declined to comment.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Alan Laird security firm dodged taxes with cash payments to officers
