New
Haven car dealer sentenced to two years in federal
prison for money laundering
Kevin J. O’Connor, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut,
announced that MARK L. KOWALSKI, age 47, of 153 River Road, Killingworth,
Connecticut, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Alfred
W. Thompson in Hartford to 24 months of imprisonment, followed by three
years of supervised release. On April 11, 2006, KOWALSKI waived indictment
and pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering, one count of filing
a false currency transaction report and one count of failing to report
a currency transaction of more than $10,000.
According to documents filed with the Court and statements made in
court, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Internal Revenue Service
conducted an undercover operation in the summer of 2003 during which
a law enforcement officer, who was posing as a drug trafficker, purchased
a 2001 Volvo Cross Country from Mark Motors, a used-car dealership
located on Grand Avenue in New Haven, for $29,051 in cash. During the
negotiations for the vehicle, the undercover officer told KOWALSKI,
the owner of Mark Motors, that the money was from drug proceeds
and that he did not want his name on any of the paperwork. KOWALSKI
agreed to sell the vehicle to the undercover agent, but placed all of
the paperwork in the name of the girlfriend of the undercover agent,
who was also an undercover agent.
During court proceedings, it was established that, prior to the undercover
operation, KOWALSKI had engaged in similar unlawful transactions with
individuals he knew to be area drug dealers.
The law requires that all trades and businesses, which includes car
dealerships, file a Form 8300 with the IRS when it receives more than
$10,000 in cash in a single transaction or related transactions during
a 12-month period. KOWALSKI was convicted of filing the IRS Form 8300,
but falsely identifying the undercover agent’s girlfriend as the purchaser
of the vehicle.
KOWALSKI was also convicted of failing to file an IRS Form 8300 in
relation to several unrelated cash transactions exceeding $10,000 that
other customers used to purchase vehicles.
During today’s sentencing proceeding, Judge Thompson also ordered KOWALSKI
to pay a $5,000 fine, and to forfeit the sum of $100,000.
“This investigation and prosecution should serve as a warning to all
business owners who willfully ignore IRS reporting requirements and
knowingly accept payment for products and services in drug money,” U.S.
Attorney O’Connor stated. “This strict sentence sends the appropriate
message that anyone who helps drug dealers launder their dirty money
faces severe consequences.”
This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation
and the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark D.
Rubino.
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/ct/Press2006/20061011-4.html
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