Gerard Terry sentenced to three years in prison

Janelle Clausen
Gerard Terry was first arrested on a state tax fraud charge in April 2016. (Photo from Nassau County District Attorney's office)
Gerard Terry was first arrested on a state tax fraud charge in April 2016. (Photo from Nassau County District Attorney's office)

Former North Hempstead Democratic Party head Gerard Terry was sentenced to three years in prison and three years of supervised release for tax evasion in federal court Tuesday afternoon, to be served concurrently with a separate state sentence.

Prosecutors had sought a 54-month – or four-and-a-half-year – sentence, while Terry’s defense had argued for leniency based on his positive contributions and poor health.

In handing down the sentence, U.S. District Court Judge Joanna Seybert judged Terry on the “sophisticated means” by which he deliberately avoided paying taxes, totaling over $1.6 million between state and federal taxes, and his “acceptance of responsibility.”

His poor health and years of community service through pro bono work – described as “very impressive” – proved to be mitigating factors.

“[Terry] can’t back away from 15 years of deliberate conduct,” Seybert said.

The verdict drew tears from Terry’s two daughters, who declined to speak with reporters after the sentencing.

Stephen Scaring, Terry’s attorney, called the sentence “harsh” and said he would appeal it. He had cited some of the 103 letters from a mix of religious leaders, medical professionals and associates like Tom Suozzi, who is now a U.S. congressman, to try to secure a lighter sentence of community service.

He also said that the guilty plea was a broad acceptance of responsibility and should be considered when handing down the sentence.

“I think his good outweighs his bad by a lot,” Scaring said in court.

Federal prosecutors argued that Terry demonstrated a long pattern of systematically avoiding paying federal taxes through false tax returns, creating accounts not in his name, pressuring colleagues to not answer IRS notices of levy, and cashing checks rather than depositing them in accounts where they could be seized.

They also argued that Terry had overstated his illness and many times appeared to not be so ill, pointing to logs showing him working up to 20-hour days.

“Gerard Terry lived by a different standard than the taxpayers he served, taking money from them in payment for the numerous governmental and quasi-governmental jobs he held, while failing to pay the taxes he owed on those jobs,” U.S. Attorney Richard Donoghue said in a statement.

In court, Terry, who was already in custody, said he takes “full responsibility for my actions,” feels “deep and profound remorse,” and intends to work out his outstanding debts with the IRS.

Prosecutors have said that Terry failed to file income tax returns from 2000 to 2015, while making about $250,000 annually from various jobs with local entities – avoiding more than $992,057 in federal income taxes – and serving as North Hempstead’s Democratic Party chairman.

They also said Terry “routinely provided false, misleading and incomplete information” to the Internal Revenue Service, once created a checking account in the name of a corporate nominee to conceal income, and “pressured colleagues and subordinates to not comply with IRS notices of levy.”

Articles in Newsday and the Great Neck Record pertaining to Gerard Terry practicing law on May 2, 2018, despite being disbarred on Sept. 25, 2017, after a guilty plea to tax fraud, were also raised as a concern by Seybert.

Scaring said the revocation was not made official until May 9, and that Seybert was drawing “some strong conclusions” from the article.

“I’m troubled that your honor is drawing inferences from a newspaper article,” Scaring said.

Terry will be sentenced for state tax fraud on June 4.

Share this Article