William Arthur Garcia could have been sentenced to at least six months in prison and fined up to $30,000.
NEWARK -- Having pleaded guilty last year to a count of tax evasion, William Arthur Garcia and his defense lawyers asked a federal judge to consider the situation facing the former owner of the Monterey Gourmet Shops in Bernardsville.
Garcia is 75, recently recovered from surgery and still providing care for his elderly relatives. He also is still in the midst of sorting out the fallout of his false tax reporting with his ex-wife, and has about $185,000 in penalties still owed to the IRS.
But prosecutors said Garcia, although he pleaded guilty to one count, had been charged with multiple counts and allegedly tried to shield nearly $1 million in business income from 2009 through 2012. In addition, he lied in family court as alimony and child support were being considered, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Margaret Ann Mahoney, who argued for prison time.
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In the end, U.S. District Judge Katharine Hayden sided with the defense.
Hayden sentenced Garcia to three years of probation and a $15,000 fine Tuesday. If Hayden hadn't used her discretion to vary from sentencing guidelines, defense lawyers said, the least prison time he would have gotten would have been six months.
The electronic monitoring and home confinement that Garcia's defense lawyers first suggested was too much as well, Hayden said, and would cause more trouble for probation officials than they were worth.
Garcia's obligation to provide transportation for his elderly relatives and do their shopping, she said, "is real."
A court record charging Garcia last year noted that he used some of the unpaid taxes on a vacation club in the Caribbean and other personal expenses. Mahoney said some time in prison would send a signal to society that tax evasion would bring a firm punishment.
But the judge said that all things considered, prison time wasn't necessary to attain justice.
"I'd remind everybody that the government doesn't fail if he gets a probationary sentence," Hayden added. "He is disgraced."
Tim Darragh may be reached at tdarragh@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @timdarragh. Find NJ.com on Facebook.