National Arts Club Part 3

YFP received an interesting comment that should be noted. The comment reads as follows:

piperspaper said...

James and his boyfriend Leitner have been ripping off the club for years and years. They have friends in high places ( Manhattan D Morgentheau and Mayor Bloomberg I'm looking at you ) Leitner even claims to have contacts with the CIA ! They are gossipy thief queens who stop at nothing to sdestroy people who cross them. Let's see some justice done ! Throw the bums in jail !

January 27, 2011 1:06 PM

YFP does not take a position as to the accuracy of the comment, however it does

point to the fact that all is not as it appears at the "Club." However, what is apparent is the seemingly preferential treatment the James brothers have been afforded throughout the years.

One example is a guilty plea of tax evasion, by John James. It seems that in lieu of a jail sentence, he was given the option of spending time at a psychiatric institute. How convenient.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
July 10, 2003
Sam Miller O: 212-669-4763
C: 917-783-0079
Rob Roman O: 212-669-2566
C: 917-667-0530
FINANCE INVESTIGATION OF SALES TAX EVASION
LEADS TO GUILTY PLEA FOR BROTHER OF
NATIONAL ARTS CLUB PRESIDENT

Plea Will Allow City to Collect $500,000 in Taxes and Fines. Latest Success Follows Recent Cases Netting City More Than $6.2 Million After a two-year investigation spearheaded by the Department of Finance, John James, brother of National Arts Club president Aldon James, pleaded guilty yesterday to sales tax evasion and failure to file unincorporated business tax returns, and will pay the City more than $500,000 in taxes and fines. James has also agreed to be institutionalized for psychiatric treatment for a period of at least 90 days. The James plea is the latest in a series of successful tax enforcement cases in which the Finance Department has played a significant role, allowing the City to collect more than $6.2 million in badly-needed revenue.

“I want to thank Finance’s tax enforcement investigators for gathering the evidence needed to produce this plea, and I want to thank our partners, Manhattan
District Attorney Robert Morgenthau and the State Department of Taxation and Finance, for their terrific work in this and other recent cases,” Finance Commissioner Martha E. Stark said. “Together we’re sending a clear message – it doesn’t pay to cheat New Yorkers.”

To nab James, Finance’s investigators subpoenaed accounting and bank records
relating to the jewelry business he operated out of the National Arts Club. A review of the records revealed that he was filing his tax returns as a Florida resident, while residing in New York City, in order to avoid paying the personal income tax. While living at the National Arts Club, he was also found to have used the club’s tax-exempt certificates in his business purchases to avoid paying sales taxes.

Page 2
Finance Investigations Lead to Guilty Pleas

On July 2, James surrendered to felony charges of tax evasion and agreed to plead
guilty to failing to collect and pay sales taxes, as well as for failing to file and pay his Unincorporated Business Tax on his business. He also agreed to civil Personal Income Tax restitution. In total, James will pay more than $500,000 in taxes and fines.

The James case originated in May 2001, when Finance began an investigation of
Joseph Frappaolo, who operated the dining room at the National Arts Club. After seizing tax records, Finance determined that Frappaolo failed to collect the appropriate sales tax from the club’s dining room operation and underreported its income. He pleaded guilty to sales tax evasion and grand larceny, and has paid tax restitution of $277,000 and criminal fines totaling $5,000.

O. Aldon James and his twin, John are the privileged off spring of a family that made it's money in AT&T stock. Their social connections have allowed them access to the top tier of New York and international society. And while they have made a substantial contribution to the Arts, they have also been afforded special treatment by the NYC power structure. And this is the direction in which further investigation should go.

One need only to gaze at a photo of society events in the Hampton's and the art world in general to note the absence of minority participants. This is the rarefied world of Waspdom and money.

So what does this mean. Well, it means that while Jose and Shakim are sweating their asses off
in some dinky jail for not paying their parking tickets, the James brothers are reapplying tanning lotion in Quogue and bugging the Mexican waiter for another round of watercress sandwiches.

This is why we should be concerned. If we are going to build an equal society, then it begins with justice not only for the poor but an examination of justice for the rich and powerful . The NAC should be investigated microscopically. It's tentacles of influence extend far beyond the gilded frames of the lovely art work it displays.