Beacon Journal
July 13, 2010
http://www.ohio.com/news/break_news/98353444.html
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| File photo of Father Sam Ciccolini at the Interval Brotherhood Home on South Main Street in Akron in 2007. (Phil Masturzo/Akron Beacon Journal) |
The well-known Roman Catholic priest who runs the Interval Brotherhood Home in Summit County was charged Tuesday with evading federal financial reporting requirements and filing a false tax return.
The Rev. Samuel R. Ciccolini, 66, of Akron, is accused of depositing more than $1 million in bank branches in the Akron area from April to June 2003 by making 139 individual cash transactions, federal authorities say.
Banks are required to report deposits of more than $10,000 to federal authorities under the Bank Secrecy Act, which is designed to catch money laundering.
Ciccolini also is accused of filing a tax return in 2004 claiming his income for the previous year was $101,064, when it was $407,062, according to the charge filed in federal court in Akron.
Ciccolini, who concelebrated Mass with Pope John Paul II in the pontiff's private chapel in 2000, is charged with one count of structuring financial transactions to evade reporting requirements and one count of making and subscribing a false tax return.
Federal authorities declined to discuss details of the case.
When asked why Ciccolini would attempt to evade the reporting requirement, U.S. Assistant Attorney Robert Bulford responded: ''I can't get into that right now.''
When asked where Ciccolini got more than $1 million, he said: ''I can't answer that right now.''
Ciccolini could not be reached for comment.
The Interval Brotherhood Home, a drug and alcohol treatment facility in Coventry Township, said he was on a retreat.
The structuring and tax return charges carry potential penalties of up to five years and three years in prison, respectively. They also carry a potential fine of $250,000.
The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
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