Frontiere Pleads Guilty to Tax Charges
Composer Dominic Frontiere, husband of Los Angeles Rams owner Georgia Frontiere, pleaded guilty Wednesday to tax charges stemming from the sale of thousands of scalped 1980 Super Bowl tickets.
Frontiere, 55, entered the guilty plea before U.S. District Judge William Keller, who set sentencing for Dec. 8. Frontiere faces a maximum of eight years in prison and a $15,000 fine and a minimum penalty of probation.
Frontiere pleaded guilty to charges of willfully filing a false 1980 income tax return and making false statements to the Internal Revenue Service. A charge that he obstructed an IRS investigation was dropped.
Frontiere’s wife, who has owned the Rams since her late husband, Carroll Rosenbloom, drowned in April, 1979, was not charged in the case, although the couple filed a joint income tax return.
Frontiere has been free on $5,000 bail since his indictment June 19. His intention to enter a guilty plea was revealed in court papers filed Monday.
According to a statement released by U.S. Atty. Robert Bonner after the plea was taken, Frontiere “falsely misrepresented that he had only received 200 1980 Super Bowl tickets, that he had given away to friends most of the tickets which he had received, that he had no personal involvement with, or knowledge of--with one exception--anyone involved with scalping any Rams-related 1980 Super Bowl tickets.”
After the hearing, Bonner declined to say if the investigation into Frontiere’s receipt of tickets continues or if others who may have been involved in the alleged scheme are being checked.
In his admission to Keller, Frontiere said he received 3,000 complimentary tickets, each valued at $30, attorneys said later in a news conference.
Although Frontiere admitted he knew the tax return was false, he said he believed he did not owe additional taxes.
“I also knew we had tremendous losses,” Frontiere told the judge.
Frontiere left the courtroom without commenting. His attorney, Bruce Hochman, said the plea was entered because trial was set for Tuesday.
In talking of his actions, Frontiere told Keller that the false statement he made to IRS investigators was that he denied knowing former Calabasas businessman Raymond Cohen when he had met him “four or five times.”
Frontiere admitted receiving at least $100,000 from Cohen as his share for the scalped tickets.
At sentencing, the government plans to ask for dismissal of a third count against Frontiere, that of obstructing an IRS investigation.
Prosecutors said the government agreed there are no taxes due from Frontiere at this time.
Frontiere has claimed through documents filed by his lawyers that Cohen and a Tarzana businessman linked to organized crime, Jack Catain, extorted from him almost all of the money Frontiere made from the ticket sales.
The documents also said Frontiere did not mention the ticket profits to his accountants because he thought that any tax liability would be offset by a one-time $700,000 operating loss for the Rams caused by an estate tax audit after the death of Rosenbloom, the former owner.