The Muttontown village mayor and her gastroenterologist husband were arrested Thursday for allegedly failing to pay their income taxes for the past five years, Nassau County prosecutors said.
Julianne Beckerman, 48, and her 55-year-old husband, Adam Beckerman, both of Muttontown, were charged with four counts of criminal tax fraud and three counts of repeated failure to file personal income and earnings taxes.
“While nobody likes taxes, we are obligated to file them and pay our fair share,” said Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas said. “So it’s especially disturbing that a doctor and an elected official allegedly failed to file tax their taxes for five years.”
Prosecutors said the couple failed to file New York State personal tax returns for tax years 2010-2014, despite earning a total income of more than $4.5 million during that time frame. Investigators determined that the Beckermans allegedly owe $243,865.00 in back taxes, authorities said.
The mayor is the the seventh government official arrested or convicted in Nassau County in the past two years. Her arrest follows the October arrests of Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano and Oyster Bay Town Supervisor John Venditto, the conviction of ex-Oyster Bay Town Planning Commissioner Frederick Ippolito in January 2016, the conviction of former New York State Sen. Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Centre) in December 2015, the recent arrest of Gerard Terry, an attorney who held numerous local government titles and the arrest of Hempstead Town Councilman Ed Ambrosino last week.
Julianne Beckerman, who ran on the Concerned Taxpayers Party line, is currently serving her third four-year term as mayor of Muttontown, where she oversaw the creation of the village police department six years ago. The village recently scored a “D” for transparency in a report card compiled by the Press. Village officials did not respond to a request for comment on the mayor’s arrest.
Adam Beckerman is a gastroenterologist with a practice in Seaford. The couple’s arrest followed a joint investigation between Nassau prosecutors and investigators with the state Department of Taxation and Finance.
The couple was released without bail and surrendered their passports following their initial court appearance Thursday. They are due back in court May 30. They face up to 15 years in prison, if convicted.
