Melissa Pezzolo, Tax Evasion, Connecticut 2023

Melissa Pezzolo, 66, of New Milford, has pleaded guilty to tax evasion, marking a major blow to her 20-year tenure as office manager and bookkeeper for a nursery and landscaping services company in Bethel.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Pezzolo willfully failed to file employment tax returns (Forms 941) for nearly a decade, beginning in 2014 and continuing through 2018. Despite this, she continued to distribute paychecks to employees, withholding their income and FICA taxes, and even accounting for the withholdings on their annual W-2 forms, which she failed to provide to the IRS or the Social Security Administration.

Pezzolo also failed to pay her own share of FICA taxes and her own withholdings, neither withholding nor paying her taxes to the IRS, nor issuing herself any W-2 forms between approximately 2010 and 2018. She also failed to pay her own required income taxes.

In a shocking twist, Pezzolo admitted to stealing thousands of dollars from her employer by giving herself unauthorized raises and paying personal expenses using the company’s corporate bank account and credit card. She has agreed to make restitution of $1,329,314, reflecting $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, each carrying a maximum term of imprisonment of five years. She is currently released pending sentencing, which is not scheduled.

The investigation into Pezzolo’s activities has been conducted by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elena L. Coronado and Christopher W. Schmeisser.

As the Grimy Times continues to investigate this case, we will provide updates on Pezzolo’s sentencing and any further developments in the matter.

With her guilty plea, Pezzolo has brought shame to her community and a significant financial burden to her former employer. Her actions are a stark reminder of the importance of transparency and accountability in our society.

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