NIAGARA FALLS

Pizzeria owners charged with tax fraud

Robert K. Nye, the owner of Jaco’s Pizzeria, located at 7202 Buffalo Ave., Niagara Falls, was one of four pizza business owners indicted on tax fraud charges Monday following an investigation by the state Office of Taxation and Finance.

State officials said Nye failed to report $1.3 million in sales, resulting in unpaid taxes of about $110,000. He faces eight counts each of offering a false instrument and aiding in filing false tax returns.

Also charged was John P. Carroll, of Poppa’s Pizzaria located at 452 Oliver St., North Tonawanda. He was charged with nine counts of offering a false instrument for filing and nine counts of filing or intentionally aiding in the filing of false sales tax returns between June 1, 2005 and Aug. 31, 2007.

According to a statement, Carroll failed to report $300,000 in taxable sales that resulted in $24,000 in unpaid taxes.

The two other businesses caught in the investigation are Pizza Works on Maple Road in Amherst and Teso’s Pizza Cafe on Main Street in Clarence. All charges are Class-E felonies that carry a maximum sentence of four years in prison.



Niagara Falls

• VANDALISM: Police are investigating an act of vandalism at the Hyde Park Golf Course. A city Parks Department employee told officers that sometime on July 1, some damaged the greens on holes 2 and 5 on the Red 9 Course by carving profanities into the grass with a stick.

Town of Niagara

• DWI: Amanda L. Hannold, 21, 418 95th St., Apt. 7, Niagara Falls, was charged early Saturday with DWI, failure to keep right and third-degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle after a traffic stop on Porter Road, according to sheriff’s deputies. Hannold told deputies she had a couple of beers at a bar and had gotten lost on her way home. She failed several field sobriety tests and registered a 0.08 percent blood alcohol content on a breath test. She was held in lieu of $250 bail.

Pendleton

• LARCENY: A Lyndonville woman reported Saturday that sometime since Nov. 1, someone stole a bronze memorial plaque from her brother’s grave at Acacia Park Cemetery on Tonawanda Creek Road. The plaque is worth $639.52, the report said.

Wheatfield

• BURGLARY: A Witmer Road man reported Friday that someone broke into a storage unit he rented at Wheatfield Storage on Niagara Falls Boulevard and stole about 20 purses, an adult Shrek Halloween costume and two struts for a GM vehicle. The items are worth about $550, the report said.

• DRUGS: Jack Leonard Alessandra, 24, 208 Victoria Boulevard, lower, Kenmore, was charged Saturday night with seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, third-degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle and driving with unassigned plates after a traffic stop on Niagara Falls Boulevard. Deputies found Alessandra was wanted on a warrant out of the Town of Tonawanda and arrested him. During a pat-down search, deputies reportedly found a white and blue pill in his front pants pocket, and Alessandra admitted it was hydrocodone. He was held in lieu of $200 bail.

City of Lockport

• ENDANGERMENT: James R. Blankenburg, 36, 105 Nadine Drive, Cheektowaga, was charged Sunday night with two counts of endangering the welfare of a child. Two juvenile boys said they and Blankenburg were playing games on the Nintendo Wii when Blankenburg lost a bowling game. One boy said Blankenburg asked him if he wanted to box, and the boy thought he meant the boxing game on the Wii. Blankenburg allegedly punched the boy in the nose and forehead. Shortly afterward, they went outside to play baseball, and Blankenburg allegedly became angry with the boy, grabbed the bat, put the boy’s arm behind his back and pushed him against the fence. The boy told police a crowd gathered, and he grabbed his things and left the party. Blankenburg was arrested later that night and held in lieu of $100 bail.

• BURGLARY: Sally K. Countryman, 22, 16 South St., Apt. 2, was charged Sunday night with second-degree burglary. Countryman allegedly stole a bag filled with prescriptions from a Genesee Street apartment Saturday. She was held without bail.

Hartland

• LARCENY: The owner of a Ridge Road apartment building reported Saturday that sometime since June 12, someone cut about 12 feet of copper grounding wire off the side of the building. The wire is worth about $50, the report said.

Olcott

• LARCENY: A Franklin Street woman reported Saturday that someone stole five wrenches and a 6-volt boat battery from her unlocked shed. The boat battery had been replaced with a 12-volt car battery, the report said. The stolen items are worth about $150.