A Stamford attorney was sentenced to 16 months in prison for tax evasion.
Joseph Richichi, 61, of Stamford, was sentenced in federal court in Bridgeport. He was also ordered to pay a $15,000 fine.
“This sentence should send a clear message that anyone who evades paying their fair share of taxes faces the very real possibility of going to federal prison,” said U.S. Attorney Kevin O’Connor.
Richichi pleaded guilty in April.
Authorities said Richichi evaded paying taxes on more than $1.8 million he earned from 2000 to 2005. Richichi admitted he failed to pay more than $600,000 in taxes.
Richichi has paid full restitution of more than $600,000 to the Internal Revenue Service and more than $760,000 in civil fraud penalties and interest.
Richichi argued that he put money in bank accounts that should have paid taxes as a safety net because of his failing health and to prevent the collapse of his law firm.
He said his high-profile partner, Michael “Mickey” Sherman, incurred more than $1.1 million in federal tax liens on the property they owned, bounced checks and failed to pay him back $25,000 he loaned in 1987 to build a house.
Prosecutors called that argument “ludicrous,” saying in court papers that Richichi cheated on his taxes because he thought he could get away with it.
Sherman, who represented Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel at his murder trial and frequently appears as a television commentator on criminal cases, has not returned telephone calls seeking comment.
