Businessman accused of tax fraud
AVERILL PARK >> State officials have accused the owner of a local trash removal business with 25 taxrelated crimes after an investigation by the state Department of Taxation and Finance. Rocco A. Fish, 55, owner of Fish Refuse, was charged with 22 felonies, including grand larceny and criminal tax fraud, as well as three misdemeanors, according to a news release from the state agency. Officials said Fish failed to report the proper amount of sales tax due to the state for six years, failing to remit $57,698 in sales tax from 2010-16. Fish also failed to file personal income tax returns for 2013, 2014, and 2015, officials allege.
Fish was arraigned in Sand Lake Town Court and released, with his next court appearance yet to be scheduled. Rensselaer County District Attorney Joel E. Abelove will prosecute the case.
“My office will continue to partner with the New York state Tax Department to ensure that we hold those individuals accountable who steal from honest taxpayers,” he said. “Given the tough economic times that constrain the availability of local government services, I’m committed to aggressively enforcing our tax laws.”
Fish faces as much as 15 years in prison and $115,000 in fines and may also be subject civil penalties that would double the amount of taxes determined to be owed.
Former Troy resident admits to sexually abusing girl
TROY >> A former city resident faces as much as four years in prison after admitting he sexually abused n underage girl.
Robert Smith, 34, pleaded guilty last week in Rensselaer County Court to firstdegree attempted rape, a felony, and second-degree reckless endangerment, a misdemeanor, under a plea deal that would include a sentence of four years in prison and 12 years of postrelease supervision on the attempted rape count and a concurrent one-year sentence on the endangerment charge.
Smith initially faced 18 charges related to several incidents involving the girl after an investigation by city police, the START Children’s Center and Rensselaer County Child Protective Services. He fled to Missouri before he could be arrested, but was eventually returned to Rensselaer County after an extradition warrant was issued.
Abelove said charges re-
main outstanding, however, against Smith’s wife, Heather, with a trial scheduled to begin Oct. 3 on 10 counts, including a top charge of first-degree criminal sex act.
Pittstown man accused in Sand Lake home invasion
SAND LAKE >> A Pittstown man was arrested after state police said he broke into a home last week and threatened its residents with a gun.
Troopers said Matthew Strack, 33, of Pittstown, broke into the home last Wednesday, but its occupants were able to escape and call for help from a neighbor’s home. They then watched, troopers said, as Strack left their home and drove away.
Strack was apprehended a short time later and charged with first-degree burglary, third-degree criminal mischief, second-degree menacing and second-degree criminal impersonation. He was arraigned in Schodack Town Court and sent to the Rensselaer County jail without bail.