NEW ORLEANS — Former Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Craig Taffaro has been convicted on charges of tax evasion and filing false tax returns.
According to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Taffaro, 70, was found guilty of six counts of tax evasion, five counts of filing a false tax return, and one count of failing to file a tax return.
He was accused of evading taxes by exaggerating business expenses for a venture that was unrelated to his work at the sheriff’s office. Taffaro retired in June amid the federal investigation.
The jury found that Taffaro, the longtime right hand man of former Sheriff Newell Normand, willfully attempted to evade taxes due and owing by filing returns with false and exaggerated business expenses for tax years 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013, and by causing the filing of a false estimate of his tax liability for tax year 2014.
The jury also found that Taffaro willfully failed to file a tax return when required by law for tax year 2014.
Taffaro faces up to five years in prison for each count of tax evasion, three years for each count of filing a false return, and one year for failure to file a tax return.
Sentencing is set for April 4, 2018.
