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Home > Blogs > Butler County News and Issues > Archives > 2009 > March > 26 > Entry
Ruscigno pledges cooperation in plea agreement
Local political operative and nightclub owner Joe Ruscigno has agreed to plead guilty to charges of tax obstruction in return for a reduced sentence, according to a plea agreement filed in U.S. District Court.
Ruscigno is facing federal charges that he over-reported the expenses of West Chester Twp.-based Fitch Reporting, Inc., to justify lowering weekly payments of back-taxes to the IRS.
The charges carry a maximum penalty of a $250,000 fine and three years in jail.
In addition to waiving his right to a defense, the agreement, signed by Ruscigno in November and filed March 10, also required Ruscigno to cooperate in unspecified ongoing criminal investigations.
The agreement isn’t finalized until Ruscigno formally enters a plea at arraignment before U.S. Judge Herman Weber in Cincinnati. His arraignment was rescheduled from today, March 26, to April 22.
In addition to being part-owner of V’s Nightclub in Hamilton — which was raided by police last month for allegedly violating the city’s adult entertainment ordinances — Ruscigno has been active in local politics for years.
Before the failed county commission campaign of his wife, Rawnica Dillingham, Ruscigno was active in Robin Piper’s campaign for county prosecutor in 2000 and Michael Fox’s re-election campaign in 2004. He also briefly served as finance chairman of the Butler County GOP.
He was also a close political ally of Kay Rogers, former county auditor who stepped down after pleading guilty to bank fraud in relation to a fiber-optics company allegedly taking out a multi-million dollar loan in Butler County’s name without county approval.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Post your comment | Categories: Crime and courts
Comments
By Leo
March 26, 2009 12:32 PM | Link to this
You can stick a fork in Piper’s plans to run for court of appeals, those plans are done. Old Joe will tell everything he knows and then will makeup some.