Hudson County View

Hudson County political fixer Bertoli receives 3 years probation & 1 year of house arrest

Hudson County political fixer Tom Bertoli received three years probation and one year of house arrest for corrupt interference with administration of the Internal Revenue laws.

By John Heinis/Hudson County View

Bertoli, who was indicted on eight tax charges in June 2020 before admitting guilt on one count this past October, received his sentence – which also includes a $100 fine – from U.S. District Court Judge Brian Martinotti last week.

“While on probation, you must not commit another federal, state, or local crime, must refrain from any unlawful use of a controlled substance and must comply with the standard conditions that have been adopted by this court as set forth below,” the judgement says.

“Based on information presented, you are excused from the mandatory drug testing provision, however, you may be requested to submit to drug testing during the period of supervision if the probation officer determines a risk of substance abuse. You must cooperate in the collection of DNA as directed by the probation officer.”

As for his 12-month house arrest, which the court refers to as a Location Monitoring Program, Bertoli must remain at his residence except for work, religious services, medical, substance abuse, and/or mental health treatment.

Any other accommodations require pre-approval from the U.S. Probation Office, who also require the full disclosure of his financial records.

Bertoli admitted that on June 5th, 2014, he was interviewed by an IRS collections officer and at that time had not filed tax returns between 2009 and 2013, despite earning income and owing a total of approximately $195,889 in taxes.

He also falsely claimed he was a construction worker at a construction company in order to hide the existence of one of his political consulting companies, Urban Logistics, LLC.

Additionally, he earned about $917,000 through Urban Logistics in 2015 and owed about  $370,025 in taxes – which he did not pay on time.

Nicknamed “the janitor” for his ability to clean up political messes, Bertoli was heavily credited for then Jersey City Ward E Councilman Steven Fulop unseating Mayor Jerramiah Healy in 2013 and has aided the likes of U.S. Senator Cory Booker and Hoboken 3rd Ward Councilman Mike Russo politically.

Bloomberg reported in 2019 that Bertoli would likely face federal tax charges and was being pressured to give up information on Fulop and other public officials, but with his case closed and no related indictments, it appears that effort was unsuccessful.

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