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Saratoga County District Attorney James A. Murphy, III announced today that Jelenik, 52, of 176 Fifth Avenue, Saratoga Springs and his construction company, Jelenik Construction Co., LLC, pleaded guilty this morning before Judge Jerry J. Scarano, Saratoga County Court Judge, to the two separate indictments.
On one indictment, Jelenik pleaded guilty to the tax fraud charge in relation to charges arising from his failure to file and pay taxes for tax years 2005 through 2008 in his capacity as the head of his construction company, Jelenik Construction, Co., LLC.
In a second indictment, Jelenik also pleaded guilty to the repeated failures to file tax returns for failing to file and pay taxes in his individual capacity as an employee of the construction company.
These pleas of guilty are the same as if a jury had deliberated on the cases and returned a verdict of guilty on the highest charges possible.
The New York State Department of Tax and Finance determined that the amount of tax, penalties and interest that was due and owing the Tax Department was $200,000 and advised the Saratoga County District Attorney's Office that was the restitution amount. As a result, in addition requiring the felony and misdemeanor pleas of guilty, the DA's Office also insisted upon full restitution so that the taxpayers of the State of New York would be fully reimbursed. At the time of sentencing, it is anticipated that Jelenik will be ordered to pay the restitution in full.
The pleas of guilty came after a number of lengthy and complicated investigations involving auditors and accountants at the New York State Department of Tax and Finance, review by the District Attorney's Office and a forensic accountant. While the case had been pending for some time, NYS Tax and the DA's Office were obtaining and reviewing records and also determining which tax records were and were not filed with the tax department. In addition, Judge Scarano had held conferences between the DA's Office and the defense attorney in order for the parties to ensure that all taxes would be paid to the State of New York. Jelenik did not contest the fact that he had not filed his taxes until after he was arrested in January of 2012.
Murphy said "No one likes paying taxes, but all of us must follow the law. Jelenik's failure to file and pay taxes in a timely manner allowed him to live a lifestyle at the expense of the taxpayers of the State of New York and Saratoga County. Despite the fact Jelenik had no prior record, we and the NYS Tax Department both felt a felony and a misdemeanor conviction were appropriate given his egregious failure to file and pay taxes for so many years. "
The investigation and subsequent arrest of Jelenik was the result of the cooperation between the New York State Tax Department and the New York State Police Malta, which was the arresting agency.
Judge Scarano continued Jelenik’s release pending his sentence date which is scheduled for September 20 at 1:15 pm. at which time it is expected that Jelenik will receive a sentence of full restitution of $200,000 payable to the NYS Department of Tax and Finance, probationary supervision and mandated court fines.
