The U.S. Attorney’s Office claims that owners of an iconic pizza shop were cooking more than just slices: they were also cooking the books.
Today, Charles and Mary Bangle appeared in a federal court in Camden, New Jersey, to face charges of conspiracy to evade income taxes, income tax evasion, and making false statements to the IRS. Charles Bangle was also charged with multiple counts of “structuring” in order to avoid reporting requirements.
The Bangles are the owners of four Manco & Manco pizza shops (the shops were formerly called Mack & Manco but the name was changed in 2011 after Mary and her husband bought the business from her parents). The shops are synonymous with summers at the Jersey shore: three of their four shops can be found on the Boardwalk (if you have to ask which Boardwalk, you’ve clearly never been to Ocean City).
According to the indictment, Manco & Manco raked in nearly $4.5 million per year in cash sales alone. And since the business was geared towards those vacationing at the shore, most of the cash came in at peak tourist season (summer, of course). The feds allege that the Bangles used a series of maneuvers in order to avoid reporting nearly $1 million. As a result, the Bangles allegedly failed to pay $336,273 in federal income tax.
The indictment alleges that the Bangles took advantage of the fact that the pizza shops were cash-based and skimmed money from the business. That money was deposit into the couple’s personal account at TD Bank. To avoid detection, the feds allege that the couple purposefully deposited less than $10,000 with each visit to the bank. By law, banks are required to report cash deposits which total more than $10,000 in any single day. The reporting requirement is meant to help the government track large transactions and prevent money laundering.
One of the ways to get around the law is to break down large transactions into smaller ones, sometimes called structuring. While making cash deposits of less than $10,000 is not illegal under 18 U.S.C. § 5324(a), it is a violation if you structure transactions to avoid reporting requirements.
That’s exactly what the feds say the Bangles did. The indictment outlines bundles of transactions which the Bangles allegedly structured to avoid detection, most of which occurred in 2010 and 2011.
The Bangles deny the charges.
Charles Bangle, who is represented by counsel, will be required to hand in his passport and his guns (12 handguns, two rifles, and two shotguns). Mary Bangle is not yet represented by counsel and will be required to hand in her passport after her arraignment. The two filed joint federal income tax returns and ran the businesses together but will be represented separately.
Despite the arrests, they’re still flipping pies at Manco & Manco, just as spring is making an appearance at the Jersey Shore. That might not be the case in a few months: if convicted, the pair faces significant jail time and fines.
