Charges Added to Slidell Man’s Indictment

DOMINICK FAZZIO, age 58, a resident of Slidell, Louisiana, was charged in a 22 count superseding indictment today by a federal grand jury with conspiracy, mail fraud, money laundering, obstruction of justice, and false statements on a federal tax return, announced U.S. Attorney Jim Letten.

The original indictment consisted of 19 counts. Counts 20, 21 and 22 were added charging the defendant with obstruction of justice and filing a false federal tax return.

According to the Indictment, FAZZIO, an accountant and tax preparer, was the registered agent, director, and an officer of a local business, Westside Construction Services, Inc. FAZZIO was also the registered agent and manager of another local business, Crescent City Materials and Hauling. From in or about May 2008 to present, FAZZIO and others allegedly conspired to defraud Garner Services, LLC of approximately $1,200,320. Specifically, in order to carry out the scheme to defraud, FAZZIO and others created fraudulent invoices made payable from Garner Services to companies controlled by FAZZIO (i.e. W.C.S., Inc. and Crescent City Materials and Hauling) and would retain a portion of the payments received. FAZZIO used commercial mail carriers to further this scheme. In April 2009, in an attempt to conceal his criminal activity FAZZIO submitted a false 2008 Form 1040 to the Internal Revenue Service. Finally, in May 2011, FAZZIO, allegedly obstructed justice by harassing a witness and attempted to persuade that witness to produce false documents to the government in order to conceal FAZZIO’s criminal conduct.

If convicted, defendant faces the following penalties:

• as to Count 1, Conspiracy to Commit Mail Fraud: five years’ imprisonment, $250,000 fine, three years’ supervised release, and $100 special assessment fee;
• as to Counts 2 - 4, Mail Fraud: 20 years’ imprisonment, $250,000 fine, three years’ supervised release, and a $100 special assessment fee (per count).
• as to Count 5, Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering: 10 years’ imprisonment, $250,000 fine, three years’ supervised release, and a $100 special assessment fee.
• as to Counts 6 - 19, Money Laundering: 10 years’ imprisonment, $250,000 fine, three years’ supervised release, and a $100 special assessment fee (per count).
• as to Counts 20—21, Obstruction of Justice: 10 years’ imprisonment, $250,000 fine, three years’ supervised release, and a $100 special assessment fee (per count).
• as to Count 22, Tax Fraud: three years’ imprisonment, $250,000 fine, one year supervised release, and a $100 special assessment fee.

U.S. Attorney Letten reiterated that the superseding indictment is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendant must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

This investigation was conducted by special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Internal Revenue Service/Criminal Investigations. The prosecution of this case is being handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Gregory M. Kennedy, James R. Mann, Salvador R. Perricone, and Brian M. Klebba.