A former Atlantic City councilman pleaded guilty Thursday to his role in a conspiracy to defraud the IRS of $119,800 in income tax over three years as part of a rolling chair business.
John Schultz, 74, was partners with William Boland and another alleged conspirator in Royal Rolling Chairs Inc.
Atlantic City business man admitted he and the two others hid gross cash receipts and did not report revenue to the IRS. The unreported money was tracked through a second set of books, Schultz admitted.
Schultz got involved with the business venture a few years ago, and they "were not as careful as they should have been" when it came to keeping the books, defense attorney Ed Jacobs said.
When asked about the admission of the second set of books with the accurate numbers, Jacobs said "that was part of the government's claim."
The plea, Jacobs explained, was an attempt "to wipe the slate clean and return to his work as a driving force behind numerous charitable endeavors."
Schultz agreed to pay all of the money back as well.
He could face as long as five years in prison and a $250,000 fine when he is sentenced Jan. 9. But Jacobs said he plans to argue for a noncustodial sentence.
"We intend to show the judge he did a little bit of bad, but a whole lot of good," Jacobs said.
Boland previously pleaded guilty and is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 25. Abdus Mian, the company's bookkeeper, was sentenced to a year of probation in April.
