New York State Department of Taxation and Finance Acting Commissioner Jamie Woodward today announced that Alexander T. Bacon, who owns The Lumberyard Grille located at 106 Bemis Street, Canandaigua, was sentenced by Judge William F. Kocher in Ontario County Court to one to three years in prison and ordered to pay $249,561.90 restitution for underreporting the restaurant’s gross sales by nearly $3.5 million over seven years.

Bacon, 39, of 3989 State Route 364, Canandaigua, had entered a guilty plea on July 21, 2009 to Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, a class C felony, for failing to pay $249,561.90 in sales taxes he collected from his customers from 2001 through 2007.

Acting Commissioner Woodward said, “The intentional underreporting of sales tax collected and remitted has substantially contributed to the tax gap we are facing in New York State. Our Special Investigations Units are working across the state with local district attorneys to expose and prosecute those who engage in sales tax fraud.  I thank Ontario County District Attorney R. Michael Tantillo for his aggressive prosecution of this case.

“The Department offers programs such as the Voluntary Disclosure and Compliance Program to encourage delinquent taxpayers to become compliant without facing criminal prosecution or civil penalty. It is hoped that this conviction and sentence will encourage other taxpayers to come forward and satisfy their tax obligation.  For more information about these programs, go to the Department’s website at www.nystax.gov.”