BOSTON (AP) -- A former labor leader has agreed to plead guilty to evading $100,000 in taxes on his collection of flashy Ferraris.
Arthur Coia, 56, of Barrington, R.I., the former head of the Laborers' International Union, reached the agreement involving state and federal taxes on three of the Italian sports cars, prosecutors and his attorney said.Despite having the money to acquire cars that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, "Mr. Coia repeatedly found ways to shirk his duty to pay his taxes," U.S. Attorney Donald Stern said.
Coia retired as general president of the union Jan. 1. The union has more than 800,000 members, mostly in the construction, environmental cleanup and maintenance industries.
Prosecutors alleged Coia evaded the state's auto use tax and local excise taxes by registering the cars elsewhere.
For instance, authorities say he saved nearly $59,000 by registering his 1972 Ferrari Daytona in Middletown, Conn., which has lower car taxes than Barrington. The car cost an estimated $1.05 million.
Coia faced only a federal charge of using the mail to carry out the scheme. Attorneys agreed to seek a sentence of two years' probation, along with $100,000 in restitution to Rhode Island and the town of Barrington, and a $10,000 fine.
"The purpose of the agreement is to allow Mr. Coia to get on with his life," said Howard Gutman, Coia's attorney.
A court hearing on the agreement was scheduled for Monday.
Last year, Coia was cleared by an independent hearing officer of charges that he had ties to organized crime. But he resigned, saying he was tired of continuing scrutiny of his conduct.