Rockland County District Attorney Thomas P. Zugibe and New York State Department of Taxation and Finance Acting Commissioner Jamie Woodward today announced the arrests of two county residents on felony charges for failure to file New York State Income Tax returns during several years between 2002 and 2007, failing to pay a combined total of nearly $99,000 for the period, not including additional accrued interest and penalties.

Charged today are:

David B. Bernfeld (DOB 04/03/42) of 19 York Drive, New City, New York

Dr. Ronald R. DiScenza (DOB 05/26/50) of 59 Halley Drive, Pomona, New York

Bernfeld and DiScenza are two of eighteen tax dodgers snared during the second stage of a statewide crackdown on a simple and all too common form of criminal tax evasion. The operation is targeting those who evade their tax obligations simply by choosing not to file their state returns.

“Our tax system is based on each citizen's responsibility to comply with state law and file accurate and timely tax returns. These tax dodgers hurt honest New Yorkers who play by the rules and must now make up the difference. As the April 15th deadline approaches, these prosecutions should send the message that profiting at the expense of the law cannot and will not be tolerated. Failure to pay your taxes is a crime will be aggressively investigated and prosecuted” said Rockland District Attorney Thomas Zugibe.

Bernfeld is charged with two felony counts of Repeated Failure to File Personal Tax Returns. The charges are based upon the defendant’s non-filing of New York State Personal Income Tax returns for the tax years 2004-2007, along with the fact that he did not pay state income taxes that were due for each of those years. The Felony Complaint filed with the Clarkstown Court indicates that Bernfeld failed to pay a total of $72,715 in state personal income tax for this period. If found guilty, the defendant faces up to four years in state prison on each charge.

Bernfeld is an attorney and partner in the Manhattan-based firm of Bernfeld, DeMatteo and Bernfeld. He currently represents a number of the victims of convicted swindler Bernard Madoff.

Dr. Ronald DiScenza, an M.D., has been charged with four felony counts of Repeated Failure to File Personal Tax Returns. Court documents show that DiScenza failed to file State Personal Income tax Returns for the years 2002-2007 and failed to pay state income tax during that time period. The defendant’s liability through the tax year 2006 is $26, 292. He also owes New York State for the 2007 tax year. DiScenza also faces state prison terms of up to four years on each of the counts filed against him.

Both Bernfeld and DiScenza were arrested by members of the Rockland County Special Investigations Unit and the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Both are scheduled to appear in the Clarkstown Court on March 3, 2010.

Acting Commissioner Woodward said, “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. These arrests are just the tip of the iceberg.”