COMPTON : Contractor Pleads Guilty to Tax Evasion Charges
A Los Angeles building contractor, who won multimillion-dollar construction contracts for municipal projects in Compton, pleaded guilty to tax evasion charges.
Jose Chinchureta, who owns B & A Construction, admitted that he underreported his income for 1989 through 1992 and failed to pay $101,673 in federal taxes, Assistant U.S. Atty. John Potter said.
Potter said Chinchureta, who Wednesday entered his plea to filing a false return for just one tax year, is among several business people the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service have targeted during a probe of alleged corruption at Compton City Hall.
The prosecutor said investigators came across Chinchureta while investigating Rep. Walter R. Tucker III (D-Compton), who served as mayor from 1990 to 1992, and former City Councilwoman Patricia Moore, who served from 1989 to 1993.
Potter declined to say how Chinchureta was linked, if at all, to Tucker or Moore. Chinchureta’s lawyer, Kenneth Gordon, refused to talk about his client’s case.
Chinchureta has agreed to pay taxes, penalties and interest owed as a result of the false returns. He faces a maximum of three years in prison and a $100,000 fine. He is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Manuel Real on Aug. 14.
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