Gambino associate to plead guilty to tax fraud
A mobbed up former business partner of disgraced former Staten Island Rep. Michael Grimm is facing tax fraud charges in Brooklyn federal court and will likely plead guilty next week, The Post has learned.
Bennett Orfaly, a close associate of jailed Gambino mobster Anthony “Fat Tony” Morelli, will plead guilty to a single tax fraud charge and faces up to three years in prison at sentencing, according to a source.
Orfaly and Grimm became business partners in 2006 and collaborated on an Upper East Side eatery called Healthalicious.
The feds eventually probed that venture and hit Grimm with several charges that propelled his spectacular downfall and resignation.
The former marine and FBI agent was sentenced to eight months in prison last year.
Orfaly cheated on his taxes at three separate eateries, including Healthalicious, according to a source.
The shifty restaurateur considers Morelli – a close associate of late Gambino don John Gotti – to be “like an uncle,” a source told The Post.
Notably, Grimm was tasked with investigating the Gambinos during his stint as an FBI agent.
Morelli is serving out a 20-year term for tax fraud and racketeering. Brooklyn federal prosecutors claim Orfaly maintained consistent contact with the mafioso despite his imprisonment.
Orfaly’s attorney, James DiPietro, told The Post that the criminal charges against his client have no relation to mafia-related activity.
“He is looking to put this matter behind him and we will be pleading to a single tax count,” DiPietro said.
http://nypost.com/2016/04/05/michael-grimms-ex-business-partner-is-likely-to-plead-guilty/
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