I remember watching the television show Bowling for Dollars. Chick Hearn, the late Los Angeles Lakers broadcaster, was the host. Contestants bowled a couple of frames and got paid small cash prizes based on how well they did.
Charles Lanza, of Wolcott, CT, had a better Bowling for Dollars idea. Mr. Lanza owns three bowling alleys in Connecticut and told his employees to fill bags with cash proceeds from his lanes (from everything from bowling, the arcade, and shoe rentals); bags were labeled “O” if they held $500 or “X” if they had $1000. (“O” stands for a split in bowling while “X” stands for a strike. I guess “/”, the symbol for a spare, wasn’t needed.) The cash was then delivered to him and not included on his books.
What a wonderful scheme. And no taxes to be paid on the $2 million skimmed from his business.
And then the IRS showed up.
Mr. Lanza faces sentencing in December on felony tax evasion and conspiracy charges. He’s expected to have to serve 30 to 37 months in prison (the maximum is ten years) and to pay a fine of $350,000 plus make full restitution.