Former Hoboken Health Director Pellegrini signed plea agreement on August 13

The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced that former Hoboken Health and Human Services Director Leo Pellegrini pleaded guilty to embezzlement and filing a false tax return on Thursday, but he signed his plea agreement on August 13th.

By John Heinis/Hudson County View

“Conditioned on the understandings specified below, this [U.S. Attorney’s] Office will accept a guilty plea from Pellegrini to two counts of a seven-count Information, which Pellegrini with participating in a scheme to embezzle from the City of Hoboken … and making and subscribing a false tax return for the year 2017,” the agreement says.

“If Pellegrini enters a guilty plea and is sentenced on these charges and otherwise fully complies with this agreement, the Office will not incite any further criminal charges against Pellegrini from the City of Hoboken between in or about March 2017 and in or about October 2022 …”

The deal continues that if Pellegrini follows all the parameters, he won’t be charged with for filing false personal federal income tax returns between 2018 and 2022, as well dismissing Counts 3 through 7 from the charges (the scope of those charges is not disclosed).

The agreement was issued from the U.S. Attorney’s Office to counsel for Pellegrini, John D. Lynch, of Union City, on August 12th and he only had until August 15th, but he and Lynch ultimately signed the next day (August 13th).

Between the two counts which Pellegrini pleaded guilty to, he faces a maximum sentence of 13 years in prison and a maximum fine of up to $500,000, along with a maximum amount of four years of supervised release and paying full restitution to the City of Hoboken.

According to the criminal complaint, Pellegrini diverted at least approximately $190,000 owed to the City of Hoboken to the Pellegrini Soccer Business Account between March 24th, 2017 and June 10th, 2021, as HCV first reported.

Additionally, Pellegrini did not report the embezzled money on his personal tax returns, and thereby made and subscribed a false personal tax return.

The criminal complaint also accuses him or not reporting approximately $457,932.60 in income between 2017 and 2021, which means he did not pay a total of $119,454.00 in federal taxes.