Attorney General and acting Tax Commissioner announce conviction of former Broome County Restaurant for failing to pay sales tax

Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman and Acting Commissioner of Taxation and Finance Nonie Manion recently announced the guilty plea and conviction of Robert Niederriter, age 52 of Kirkwood, and his business, Buffalo Head Bar & Grill, Inc., for failing to file numerous sales tax returns and remit over $59,000 in sales tax that was collected at Buffalo Head Bar & Grill. Pursuant to his plea, Niederriter paid $59,789.01 to the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance for the unpaid sales tax and was sentenced to a one-year conditional discharge. 

“New Yorkers trust businesses to follow the rules and pay their fair share of taxes,” said Attorney General Schneiderman. “Our office will continue to root out and prosecute those who seek to steal from taxpayers to line their own pockets.”

“As this conviction clearly shows, the NYS Tax Department dedicates significant resources to finding business owners who commit sales tax fraud,” Acting Commissioner Manion said. “We’ll continue to work with the AG’s office and all our law enforcement partners to bring criminals to justice, and make sure honest merchants do not face a competitive disadvantage.”

From June 2011 through December 2015, Niederriter owned and operated Buffalo Head Bar & Grill (“Buffalo Head”), a bar and restaurant located at 1577 Conklin Rd. in Broome County. Niederriter, the sole person responsible for sales tax at Buffalo Head, was legally required to report all taxable sales, including food and beverage sales, and to file sales tax returns on a quarterly basis. However, during the time he owned Buffalo Head, Niederriter only filed two quarterly sales tax returns when he should have filed 18. According to an audit conducted by the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, between June 1, 2011 and November 30, 2015, Niederriter underreported Buffalo Head’s total sales by $747,362.56 and failed to remit $59,789.01 in sales tax due.

On March 14, 2018, Buffalo Head pleaded guilty before the Honorable Joseph F. Cawley in Broome County Court to Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, a Class C felony. Buffalo Head is scheduled to be sentenced to an unconditional discharge on June 4, 2018. 

Last week, Niederriter pleaded guilty before the Honorable Beth L. Marshall in Conklin Town Court to Petit Larceny, a Class A misdemeanor. Pursuant to his plea, Niederriter paid $59,789.01 to the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance for the unpaid sales tax and was sentenced to a one-year conditional discharge. 

The case is a result of a joint prosecution was initially investigated by the Department of Taxation and Finance’s Criminal Investigations Division, and then referred to the Attorney General’s Office for further investigation and prosecution. The Attorney General thanks the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance for their valuable assistance in this investigation.

The Attorney General’s investigation was conducted by Investigator Joel Cordone under the supervision of Supervising Investigator Richard Doyle and Deputy Chief Antoine Karam. The Investigations Bureau is led by Chief Dominick Zarrella.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant Attorney General Andrew J. Tarkowski of the Criminal Enforcement and Financial Crimes Bureau. The Criminal Enforcement and Financial Crimes Bureau is led by Bureau Chief Stephanie Swenton and Deputy Bureau Chief Joseph G. D’Arrigo. The Division of Criminal Justice is led by Executive Deputy Attorney General Margaret Garnett.