Former Snakedance Condominiums owner to face prison time

Taos resident and former owner of several Taos Ski Valleyarea businesses Diane Mariani, 67, will face three months in prison and nine months of home detention after she pleaded guilty in May to willful failure to collect or pay over tax.

Doing business as the coowner, operator and treasurer of Mountain Resort Management, Inc., Mariani oversaw the Snakedance Condominiums, Bumps Market and the Hondo Restaurant. According to her case, she withheld “at least $203,137” in employee’s federal taxes from the Internal Revenue Service. She pleaded guilty to the charges on May 18.

Along with the prison time, a federal court this week ordered Mariani to pay $203,137 in restitution to the IRS and to pay an additional fine of $150,000.

According to a press release from the New Mexico District Attorney’s Office, “[Mariani] knew she had a duty to withhold federal income taxes, Social Security taxes, and Medicare taxes — collectively referred to as ‘trust fund taxes’ — from employee paychecks. She also knew that she had a duty to report those taxes on a quarterly basis and to deposit those taxes on a regular basis.”

The DA’s office said she failed to report those taxes.

“From the first quarter of 2015 through the fourth quarter of 2018, Mariani withheld at least $203,137 in trust fund taxes from the employees she paid. Mariani willfully failed to pay those taxes to the IRS,” the press release continued.

“Upon completion of her prison and home detention sentence, Mariani will be subject to three years of supervised release.”