Broome County restaurant owner arrested for failing to report and pay sales tax

A Kirkwood man is facing six felony charges, accused of failing to report and pay sales tax.

Robert Niederriter, 52, didn’t pay $59,000 in sales tax collected at this former business, Buffalo Head Bar & Grill, LLC, between 2011 and 2015, the office of New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said in a news release issued Wednesday.

Both Niederriter and Buffalo Head Bar & Grill are charged with grand larceny in the second degree, a class C felony; three counts of criminal tax fraud in the third degree, a class D felony; one count of criminal tax fraud in the fourth degree, a class E felony; and one count of offering a false instrument for filing in the first degree, a class E felony.

Niederriter was arraigned Wednesday morning in Windsor Town Court and released on his own recognizance. If convicted, Niederriter faces a maximum sentence of up to 5 to 15 years in prison.

The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance was also involved in the investigation.

“When businesses fail to meet their tax obligations — to file the required returns and remit the sales tax collected from customers as alleged in this case — they deprive the state and the communities where they operate of revenue needed for vital services, and put honest merchants at a competitive disadvantage,” Nonie Manion, acting commissioner of taxation and finance, said in Schneiderman’s news release. “We’ll continue to work with the AG’s office and all our law enforcement partners to ensure that these criminals face justice.”

Case background

Niederriter was the owner of Buffalo Head Bar & Grill, a bar and restaurant located at 1577 Conklin Road in Conklin, from June 2011 through December 2015, Schneiderman’s office said, citing the felony complaint.

An investigation by the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance revealed that Niederriter filed an application to register for a sales tax certificate of authority, “listing himself as the sole responsible person for sales tax.”

He was legally required to report all taxable sales, including food and beverage sales, and to file sales-tax returns on a quarterly basis.

However, Niederriter “only filed two quarterly sales-tax returns” during the time he owned and operated Buffalo Head Bar & Grill.

According to an audit conducted by the Department of Taxation and Finance, Niederriter underreported Buffalo Head Bar & Grill’s total sales by more than $747,000 and failed to remit more than $59,000 in sales tax due between June 1, 2011 and November 30, 2015.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com

*Photo provided by the New York State Attorney General’s office