Up until the late 1990s, Hoboken drivers retrieving their cars at Pino’s Towing/Hoboken Auto Body could only pay in cash, as the company had not installed a credit card machine. Aggravation-fueled suspicions on residents’ parts may have had merit, as four people involved with the company have pleaded guilty to federal tax evasion of more than $900,000 from 1994 to 1997.
Pino’s currently holds an exclusive municipal contract to tow improperly parked cars in the city on behalf of the Hoboken Police Department, as well as non-resident cars for the Parking Authority.
The company, located at 620 Jackson St., also helps the city tow cars in the event of extreme weather or similar emergencies, and rents space to the city for its recycling center.
According to officials from the Parking Authority and the Police Department, last year alone the company towed approximately 10,000 cars. Their contract with the Parking Authority runs through June of this year.
When residents’ or visitors’ cars are towed, they must go to Pino’s and pay $98 if it is a Parking Authority tow, or $75 if it is a Police Department tow. There may also be storage fees. According to the contract, Pino’s keeps $58 for every car it tows for the Parking Authority, and the Parking Authority keeps the remaining $40.
In the case of a police tow, Pino’s keeps the entire $75.
In February of 1999, FBI agents and officials from the Internal Revenue Service raided Pino’s. After a two-year investigation, they filed charges in federal court.
According to U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie, Theresa Pino, 53, of Hoboken, pleaded guilty to federal tax evasion in connection with her personal tax return for 1996 and for subscribing to a false corporate tax return for Hoboken Auto Body in 1997. Theresa Pino was called Thursday but she declined to comment on the case.
Vincent Tubito, 51, formerly of Hoboken, and now of Davie, Fla., also pleaded guilty to personal tax evasion for 1996 and for assisting in filing a false corporate tax return for 1997. Tubito is a certified public accountant whose wife is a shareholder in Hoboken Auto Body. Tubito maintained computer records of the business’s cash receipts, Christie said.
Bill Pino, 39, of Lake Hiawatha, and Yvette Pino Giaquinto, a former Hoboken resident, pleaded guilty and were charged with filing a false personal tax return in 1996.
Giaquinto’s sentencing is scheduled for July 31. The other three have not scheduled a sentencing date, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.
According to Christie, each defendant admitted to being aware that Hoboken Auto Body maintained a “double set of books,” one set showing the cash profits and the other not showing them. The three defendants admitted in federal court that from 1994 through 1997, cash proceeds totaling about $100,000 in 1994, $250,000 in 1995, $325,000 in 1996, and $225,000 in 1997, were distributed equally among the shareholders.
Tubito has admitted to preparing and keeping computer spreadsheets showing the accurate financial numbers for all cash transactions for Hoboken Auto Body, including amounts of cash profits received and distributed to shareholders, according to Christie. Theresa Pino, the daily manager of the business, admitted providing the false set of books to an outside accountant for the preparation of the corporate tax return, according to Christie.
The three will be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Alfred M. Wolin. Theresa Pino and Tubito face a maximum of five years in federal prison and a $100,000 fine for tax evasion, and three years and a $100,000 fine for subscribing falsely to a tax return.
Bill Pino faces a maximum three years in prison and a $100,000 fine. In addition, the defendants must file amended and corporate tax returns before sentencing and may be ordered to pay the costs of the prosecution of the case.
Under U.S. sentencing guidelines, Wolin will determine the defendants’ actual sentences based on a formula that takes into account the severity and characteristics of the offenses and the defendants’ criminal history, if any.
Since parole has been abolished in the federal system, any custodial sentence handed down must be served through its duration.