BOSTON, Oct. 6 (UPI) -- A Massachusetts congressman's wife, Patrice Tierney, is set to plead guilty to aiding her brother's tax evasion, authorities said.
The wife of Democratic Rep. John Tierney will plead guilty Tuesday afternoon to federal tax charges for managing a bank account her brother, Robert Eremian, allegedly used to deposit millions in illegal profits from an offshore sports betting operation in Antigua, the U.S. attorney's office in Boston told The Boston Globe.
The congressman said his wife was betrayed by her brother. He said she believed his earnings were legitimate, but is pleading guilty because she should have done more to investigate his activities.
Tierney's lawyer said that under a plea agreement, prosecutors will recommend probation with several months of home confinement, the Globe reported.
Prosecutors say Eremian moved an illegal Internet gambling business from Lynnfield, Mass., to Antigua in 1996 and deposited more than $7 million in proceeds in a Massachusetts bank. Tierney is accused of managing some of his "financial and family obligations'' through the account and mischaracterizing deposits as commissions in tax documents submitted for 2004 through 2008.
In August, a federal grand jury indicted Eremian and his brother, Daniel, of Boca Raton, Fla., on charges of racketeering, illegal gambling and money laundering. Robert Eremian remains a fugitive.
