Mwynn
10-08-2007, 07:30 PM
Former Mellon Bank employees sentenced for tax return shredding
Saturday, October 06, 2007
By Paula Reed Ward, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Two former Mellon Bank employees charged as part of the tax-return shredding case in 2001 were sentenced to probation yesterday in federal court.
Denise Philpott, 52, of Shaler, was ordered to serve three years probation, including six months home detention, and perform 100 hours of community service.
David Bryant, who was the midnight shift supervisor in Mellon's processing facility, received the same sentence.
Mellon had a contract with the Internal Revenue Service and Financial Management Service beginning in 1993 to serve as a processing center for tax returns, vouchers and checks received in Pittsburgh. Most of those came from upstate New York and New England.
But in 2001, as the April 29 deadline approached, there were still tens of thousands of returns left to process. A manager at the center realized they would never complete the work, and she ordered employees to hide and shred them.
In all, 77,000 tax returns were destroyed. Eight former employees have been charged.
Four have pleaded guilty and four others still have their charges pending.
Ms. Philpott and Mr. Bryant were the first to be sentenced. They faced a possible prison term of 21 to 27 months, but the government moved for a reduction because both defendants provided substantial assistance in the case.
After listening to Mr. Bryant apologize for his role in the crime, U.S. District Judge Gary L. Lancaster asked him, "The one question everybody has, how did you think you were going to get away with this?"
"There was no thought involved, really," answered Mr. Bryant, 41, of Wilkinsburg. "I can remember on the 28th of April, everything happened so fast."
He said he got a call from his supervisor telling him what to do.
"Myself and the other manager, we just did it."
As part of a federal investigation into the matter, Mellon agreed to pay $18.1 million to cover the costs for interest lost from the time the checks were shredded to when replacements were sent, as well as the cost to move the processing contracts.
Then, in June, Mellon Financial Corp. agreed to pay $16.5 million to cover civil damages and penalties from violations of the False Claims Act.
Mellon is at war right now with the other banks in Pittsburgh. One of them is going to end up running this city. Then running it further into the ground.
Saturday, October 06, 2007
By Paula Reed Ward, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Two former Mellon Bank employees charged as part of the tax-return shredding case in 2001 were sentenced to probation yesterday in federal court.
Denise Philpott, 52, of Shaler, was ordered to serve three years probation, including six months home detention, and perform 100 hours of community service.
David Bryant, who was the midnight shift supervisor in Mellon's processing facility, received the same sentence.
Mellon had a contract with the Internal Revenue Service and Financial Management Service beginning in 1993 to serve as a processing center for tax returns, vouchers and checks received in Pittsburgh. Most of those came from upstate New York and New England.
But in 2001, as the April 29 deadline approached, there were still tens of thousands of returns left to process. A manager at the center realized they would never complete the work, and she ordered employees to hide and shred them.
In all, 77,000 tax returns were destroyed. Eight former employees have been charged.
Four have pleaded guilty and four others still have their charges pending.
Ms. Philpott and Mr. Bryant were the first to be sentenced. They faced a possible prison term of 21 to 27 months, but the government moved for a reduction because both defendants provided substantial assistance in the case.
After listening to Mr. Bryant apologize for his role in the crime, U.S. District Judge Gary L. Lancaster asked him, "The one question everybody has, how did you think you were going to get away with this?"
"There was no thought involved, really," answered Mr. Bryant, 41, of Wilkinsburg. "I can remember on the 28th of April, everything happened so fast."
He said he got a call from his supervisor telling him what to do.
"Myself and the other manager, we just did it."
As part of a federal investigation into the matter, Mellon agreed to pay $18.1 million to cover the costs for interest lost from the time the checks were shredded to when replacements were sent, as well as the cost to move the processing contracts.
Then, in June, Mellon Financial Corp. agreed to pay $16.5 million to cover civil damages and penalties from violations of the False Claims Act.
Mellon is at war right now with the other banks in Pittsburgh. One of them is going to end up running this city. Then running it further into the ground.