MICHAEL WEISS
Weiss, co-owner of Woody’s and the president of the board of Voyeur, agreed to a plea deal June 29, one week before his trial was set to begin. He pleaded guilty to corruptly endeavoring to impede the due administration of the tax code and two counts of aiding and abetting the preparation and filing of false tax returns. He will be sentenced this fall and could face 10-16 months in prison.
Weiss was indicted in January by a grand jury, which accused him of underreporting the earnings from the Palmer Social Club, a nonprofit after-hours club on Sixth and Spring Garden streets, on the club’s 2004 and 2005 tax filings by more than $1.6 million. At that time, Weiss served as the principal operating officer of the club and signed its IRS filings.
A former club employee aided in the investigation and told investigators that Weiss used two separate electronic documents when tallying the club’s earnings, one with the correct amount and one with a lesser figure.
As part of the plea deal, the club, which was also named as a defendant in the case, agreed to give up its tax-exempt status, which it has held for more than four decades. The club also consented to file corporate tax returns for 2004-09 and to pay all back taxes, penalties and interest.
Weiss originally pleaded not guilty to the charges in February.
He will be sentenced Oct. 15.
Weiss and his brother Billy co-own the building in which Voyeur is housed, and that club also functions as a nonprofit social club under the moniker Mayfield Social Club.
The brothers purchased Woody’s from its original owner Bill Wood in 2006.
Jen Colletta can be reached at jen@epgn.com.
As for "testify", I do not know who your Lord is but there is no God that I know of who condones the mocking of murder, suicide or children with special needs. Oh, and doll, people in glass houses should not throw stones.
However, don't expect to receive such an intelligent response like the one you have provided.
We must constantly remind ourselves when dealing with "THEM" that we are not dealing with people who have or value REASON and their actions make no sense, at best!
"THEY" are a cold hearted operation! Employing nothing but mindless robots who serve and carry out their evil deeds. No love will you find in "THEIR" hearts... Only empty promises filled never ending arrogance, ignorance and greed.
"THEY" single handedly killed nightlife in Philadelphia and rapped communities of its soul. "THEY" tore apart a city that once was united and turned brothers against themselves.
On October 15 PEACE will hopefully find its way back to this place WE call home.
The bigger they are the harder they fall...
Karma is FIERCE!
Those who are so far up Michael and Billy Weiss's posterior regions may want to consider some points of interest. Firstly, the person who is being attacked through your sketchy and haphazard rants is no one that I know. Given how many of us went before the IRS, you will find it difficult to attach your libel to one person. The Weiss family has hurt so many people throughout their years in "business". We all have something to contribute, to restore any dignity sold, stolen and dismantled while working for the Weiss family. I suppose that the mitigated sale of our dignity to the Weiss family would qualify as an alleged prostitution ring.
Secondly, the process against Michael Weiss is taking many years and great patience. Any levels of guilt that all of us had while working for the Weiss family was forgiven when we opted for this kind of redemption. It is not with arrogance or exaggerated feelings of self worth that we do any of this. It all centers on dignity reclaimed.
"Testify thy lord" for someone so quick to read a list of improper dealings and doings, attaching your pretend, sanctimonious words and citing many despicable acts as truth, I still find you to be a pitiable person for your specious reasoning, for your loyalty to those who would send you to your end for and your obtuse understanding of the facts as they have been presented.
It is not my purview to plead for your understanding or for me to educate any of you, because the facts against Michael Weiss are impossible to refute, especially when presented in his own handwriting or when viewed as dummy data stored in Michael Weiss's home computer. The attachment is still the same: Michael Weiss.
So, I will not plead to those who are incapable of reason. In this particular area, I will allow Michael Weiss to set the example and do all of the pleading from the confines of a courtroom.
Personal attacks are acts of desperation. This is a forum for clarification related to a well-written and fact-driven news story, not for haughtiness derived from juvenile tactics and libelous demeanor.
Michael Weiss would have the club and his manager, Mohammed Ell-Laisy, sell all of the purchased liquor, both what was purchased using the club name and that which was purchased using other means. When he files the tax returns, citing the liquor sales, he would only report the liquor sales for the liquor purchased using the club's license.
All of the other liquor sales never were recorded for any tax returns. From that, Michael Weiss, Billy Weiss and Barnet Weiss all made millions from liquor sales that were never reported.
It was not an issue about avoiding taxes or paying any fair shares. It was about greed. I am only happy to know that all of the Weiss clubs are now under investigation, including those in San Diego.
I witnessed the entire process, watching Billy Weiss and Barnet Weiss receiving weekly stipends of $3,000 and $5,000, respectively. I have the proof from records that were turned over to the IRS to assist in the investigation.
Michael Weiss has a colorful criminal past both on paper and having been witnessed by many of his associates. His involvement and association with a counterfeiting enterprise, influence peddling, bribery of city officials, forgery and mail fraud are points of interest that will soon be released for the public to know. For all of those naive people who believed him to be genuine, ignorance is no excuse.
This is only the beginning...of the end.