4 THE QUEENS COURIER • MARCH 30, 2017 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM Owners of College Point spa booked for tax fraud BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI [email protected] @smont76 Th e four owners of Spa Castle in College Point allegedly failed to report millions of dollars in revenue to avoid paying required taxes, prosecutors announced on Wednesday, March 22. Steve Chon, 57, his brothers Daniel, 54, and Victor, 50, and his daughter Stephanie, 29, own and operate the 100,000-square-foot spa facility located at 131-10 11th Ave. According to the charges, the family is accused of allegedly failing to report to New York state a total of over $621,000 in sales taxes, $610,000 in corporate taxes, $207,000 in withholding taxes and $131,000 in Metropolitan Transportation Authority surcharge taxes between 2010 and 2013. Within that same time frame, prosecutors said, Spa Castle generated over $22 million per year in revenue. Records seized during the execution of a search warrant at the location in August of 2015 showed that the defendants avoided paying required taxes by under-reporting the amount of money earned at the facility and by paying employees and vendors in cash. Th e defendants face charges of grand larceny in the second degree and criminal tax fraud in the second and third degree. If convicted, each of the individual defendants face up to fi ve to 15 years in prison. Th e case was the result of a joint investigation by the New York State Attorney General’s Offi ce and the Department of Taxation and Finance, Criminal Investigations Division. Defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. “Companies that fail to pay their fair share of taxes leave ordinary New Yorkers to foot the bill,” Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said. “We will not tolerate irresponsible business owners who cheat the system and undermine our tax laws.” Th is is not the fi rst time the College Point spa facility has made headlines. In February of 2016, the city shut down all of the pools at the location aft er a 6-yearold girl’s hair was caught in a pool vent, nearly causing her to drown. Days later, reports emerged that several patrons were found having sex inside of the pools and hot tubs at the location. Most recently, a customer trying to skip out on her bill struck an employee with her car while fl eeing the location on Feb. 26. Chancellor: Townsend principal search going by the book BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI [email protected] @smont76 Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña tried to reassure the Townsend Harris High School community in Flushing last week aft er months of public outcry regarding the school’s search for a permanent principal. “I just want to say that the C-30 process is being totally followed by the letter of the law at Townsend Harris,” Fariña said on March 22. “Because someone interviews doesn’t mean they’re getting the job. It is a C-30 process; it has been totally verifi ed it is going on in the appropriate manner and there should be a resolution within two or three weeks.” Th e remarks came during the most recent Panel for Educational Policy (PEP) meeting, where Parent Teacher Association (PTA) co-president Edward Tan and Freshman- Sophomore Class President Max Kurant continued to speak out about the tension between interim acting principal Rosemarie Jahoda and the school community, as well as the DOE’s C-30 hiring process for a permanent principal, which Queens Borough President Melinda Katz recently said does not give parents “eff ective input.” Since late last year, the school community has publicly called for Jahoda’s removal and expressed its frustration with the DOE’s hiring process through a student protest, a rally outside of the school, a demonstration in front of City Hall, and most recently, a second student sit-in during principal candidate interviews. Two members of the school community have also recently received responses from Fariña via email, according to PTA co-president Susan Karlic, who had previously voiced concerns about the one-sided conversation the school community appeared to be having with the city agency. On March 15, Debra Michlewitz, a longtime educator and previous teacher at Townsend Harris High School, reached out to the chancellor, stating that “careful action is necessary now to preserve Townsend Harris HS as the invaluable public education resource and asset for the students and citizens of NYC.” Fariña replied, thanking Michlewitz for her letter and stating she is “sure a good solution will be found.” A concerned parent, who wished to remain anonymous, expressed her dismay with the DOE’s hiring process in another email to the chancellor on March 17. Th e parent stated that he or she is concerned that Jahoda is still being considered a candidate for the permanent position despite showing “poor leadership and disrespect to the students and faculty.” Fariña responded, “I truly believe letting the process take its course is the way to promote democracy.” Aft er these three responses, Karlic said the school community is “cautiously hopeful.” “We are hopeful that the democratic process will be allowed to take its course and that everyone will respect that process,” Karlic said. “We’re confi dent that the person selected as the top choice in the true democratic fashion — i.e., the candidate receiving the highest scores and ranking, with each Level 1 C-30 participant carrying equal weight — will be the best person to lead Townsend Harris as permanent principal.” Selina Lee, co-president of the school’s alumni association, said she remains concerned about what the outcome of the hiring process will be. Th e C-30 hiring process is now in Level II, where the hiring manager, Superintendent Elaine Lindsey, conducts her own set of interviews and selects the permanent principal. C-30 regulation states that a permanent principal must be appointed within 90 days of the job posting. Th e position was posted by the DOE on Feb. 1. Photo by Suzanne Monteverdi/QNS Students rally outside of City Hall on Feb. 24. Photos courtesy of Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman’s press offi ce. Steve, Victor, Stephanie and Daniel Chon (L-R)
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