State tax officials charge six here

In a roundup of alleged tax cheats, state tax officials on Wednesday announced the arrest of six Rochester area professionals and businesspersons.

The local arrests are “the tip of the iceberg” in a planned statewide crackdown on individuals who try to skirt tax obligations by not filing returns, Acting Commissioner of Taxation and Finance Jamie Woodward said in a statement.

Caught in the sweep were a doctor, dentist, nurse, lawyer, a partner in a logging enterprise and an electrical contractor. Individuals charged are:

• Carole Livsey 48, of 1191 Lee Road. Livsey is alleged to have not filed state tax returns for the past four years. Now an attorney in private practice, she formerly worked as an attorney for the Victim Resource Center of the Finger Lakes Inc., in Wayne County. She could be sentenced to a maximum of four years in prison;
• Mary Ann Lester, 48, of 4 San Rafael Drive. Lester allegedly failed to file state tax returns for the years 2003-2007. She is a dentist and a partner of Periodontal Health Specialists of Rochester PLLC. After learning that she was under investigation, Lester filed the delinquent returns and has paid $32,000 of the $53,410 total she owed in back taxes, state officials said. She could draw up to four years in prison; 
• Virginia Wohltmann, M.D., 50, of 1108 Roosevelt Road, East Rochester, who is charged with failing to file returns for the years spanning 2002 and 2008. She specializes in psychiatry and neurology and has sub-specialties in child and adolescent and geriatric psychiatry. Wohltmann could face up to four years in prison; 
• James Walker, 46, of 8317 Hatch Hill Road, Naples, is charged with failing to file returns for the 2005-2008 tax years. He is a partner in Bigwood LLC, a logging and lumber business that formerly operated in Naples. Walker could be sentenced to a maximum seven-year prison term; 
• Peter Montagliano, 64, of 48 Red Leaf Drive, a former operator of an area electrical contracting business, allegedly failed to file personal state tax returns in 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005. He faces a possible four-year prison term; and
• Billie Jo Timmerman, 39, of 3621 Main St., Walworth, a licensed practical nurse, allegedly filed no state tax returns from 2002 to 2006. She could be sentenced to up to four years in prison.

The state tax division’s Rochester Special Investigations Unit worked with prosecutors in Monroe, Wayne and Ontario County on the cases. The arrested individuals face arraignment in various local courts this week and next week.  

"We want to send a clear message to those who find it inconvenient to pay their fair share of taxes: Proceed at your own risk. The Tax Department is committed to pursuing tax cheats and we are working with prosecutors in counties across the state to bring these criminals to justice,” Woodward said.

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