CLEVES, Ohio — Vito Stramaglia cried on Tuesday as he stood before a federal judge and asked him for leniency.
"I screwed up," Stramaglia, 56, told U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Black. "It was motivated by greed."
Stramaglia owned and operated more than 30 businesses fronted by business associates, including demolition companies, nightclubs, an 'adult toy' store and an ice cream bar, according to his 2016 plea agreement.
In his agreement, he admitted that he failed to file federal tax returns since 1992.
Stramaglia pleaded guilty to tax evasion charges in 2017.
He was allowed to live at his farm in Tennessee and receive medical treatment while he paid nearly $2.1 million in court-ordered back taxes and penalties, according to court documents.
According to Stramaglia's plea agreement, he bought several homes — including houses in Las Vegas and Fort Lauderdale — and 20 luxury vehicles while he failed to pay income taxes from 2006 to 2013.
"Your conduct was egregious," Black told him. "It went on for a long, long time."
Black, citing Stramaglia's medical problems, sentenced him to six months in federal prison.
According to the I-Team's review of Hamilton County court records, Stramaglia was also sued for not paying his bills.
Businesses received more than $300,000 in court judgments against Stramaglia and his companies, court records show.
It's not clear from those documents how much of that debt was paid by Stramaglia.
Julie Durbin, President of Durbin Nursery and Landscaping in Cleves, said Stramaglia still owes her more than $20,000 for work her company completed on his home in 2008.
"We fulfilled our end of the contract," Durbin said. "He had no issues with the work or the quality that was done. He was trying to manipulate not paying his bill."
Her records show Stramaglia's companies bounced checks to her business.
She said he paid about a fourth of what he owed.
Durbin sued him and received a $29,400 court judgment against Alpine Holding Company, one of Stramaglia's businesses, according to court records.
But Durbin said she was never able to collect it.
"He was always that one step ahead of us," Durbin said.
On Wednesday, Stramaglia declined to answer the I-Team's questions during a brief phone conversation.
"Nothing to talk about, sir," Stramaglia told the I-Team eight times before he finally ended the call.
Stramaglia appeared to score points with federal prosecutors for providing them with intelligence about other alleged crimes.
He "assisted" federal investigators in a "bribery investigation," according to records filed by Stramaglia's attorneys prior to sentencing.
"He bid on work for a national retailer located in Cincinnati," the defense documents claim. "Stramaglia learned that this particular Retailer’s contracting representative, who was responsible for hiring demolition contractors, was on the take."
In cooperation with the government, Stramaglia arranged for his co-defendant Hugo Oliver Santamaria to "offer the representative a bribe for work."
But, according to the defense document, no charges were ever filed in that case.
Durbin didn't learn the extent of Stramaglia's conduct until she reviewed records in his federal tax evasion case.
"We've never had anyone like this in our 40 years of business," Durbin said.
She said Stramaglia's sentence of six months in prison is disappointing.
“It's not justice in my mind," said Durbin.
