MELISSA PEZZOLO, Tax Evasion, Connecticut 2018

MELISSA PEZZOLO, a 66-year-old woman from New Milford, was sentenced to 13 months in federal prison for her role in a years-long scheme to evade taxes on behalf of a local nursery and landscaping services company.

According to court documents, Pezzolo was the office manager and bookkeeper for the company, which she worked for nearly 20 years. Her responsibilities included managing the company’s books and invoices, paying bills, handling payroll and employment tax obligations, and coordinating with the tax return preparer who filed the company’s yearly corporate tax returns.

However, Pezzolo willfully failed to file any employment tax returns (Forms 941) and make related payments of withholding taxes on behalf of the company between 2014 and 2018. Despite this, she continued to distribute paychecks to employees that withheld income and FICA taxes, but failed to provide the W-2 forms or pay the related withholding taxes to the IRS or Social Security Administration. She also failed to pay the company’s own share of FICA taxes.

In addition to her tax offenses, Pezzolo admitted to stealing more than $400,000 from her employer by giving herself unauthorized raises and paying personal expenses using the company’s corporate bank account and credit card.

U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden ordered Pezzolo to pay restitution of $1,329,314 to the IRS, which reflects $1,170,992 in unpaid company payroll taxes and $158,322 in unpaid personal income taxes for the 2014 through 2018 tax years.

Pezzolo pleaded guilty to one count of willful failure to collect or pay over tax, and one count of tax evasion of assessment on January 17, 2023. She is currently out on bond and is required to report to prison on August 1.

The investigation was conducted by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division, with the case being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elena L. Coronado and Christopher W. Schmeisser.

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