NEW YORK -- The owners of the fashionable La Bibliotheque restaurant across from the United Nations pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy and tax evasion, federal prosecutors said Monday.
William Gordon, 37, of 185 E. 85th St., and Steven Meisels, 42, of 351 E. 84th St., both of Manhattan, admitted to skimming their restaurant's gross receipts and fraudulently failing to report that taxable income, according to assistant U.S. Attorney James DeVita.
In entering their guilty pleas in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, Gordon and Meisels confessed that from 1978 to 1981 they kept two sets of books -- a false one for tax purposes and another accurately reflecting income.
Although Gordon and Meisels did not admit to any specific amount, DeVita said the second set of records show $790,000 in gross receipts was not reported to the Internal Revenue Service.
Gordon and Meisels admitted they deposited the skimmed profits in a secret account in Philadelphia.
The fraud was uncovered in an FBI undercover operation, DeVita said.
Gordon and Meisels each face up to 25 years on the tax evasion and conspiracy charges and up to $50,000 in possible fines.
