FAYETTE CO., Ill. - In a resolution to an almost-year-old case in Fayette County Circuit Court, a local car dealership's president has entered a plea to one of the three charges he was facing regarding sales tax evasion.
Duane C. Engel, 71, of Salem, president of Engel Brothers Ford in Farina, entered a plea on Thursday, December 15, to a Class 4 felony count of Computer Fraud in conjunction with the tax evasion allegations, which were raised in January of this year and two of which - Sales Tax Evasion of between $10,000 and $100,000, a Class 2 felony; and Violation of Retailers' Occupation Tax Act, a Class 4 felony - occurred in early 2013. The latter two were dismissed in exchange for a plea to the single count.
Engel is a first-time offender and that, along with his age, were probably what were taken into consideration when he got his slap on the wrist: 12 months conditional discharge and an order to pay court costs, as well as restitution in the amount of $137,194. That restitution must be paid within 30 days, so he's probably got it on hand, and that availability was probably already determined before the plea was struck, likely by investigators from the Illinois Attorney General's office (who prosecuted the case on a perceived conflict) as well as from the Illinois Department of Revenue's Criminal Investigation Division.
It's unclear as to his status with the car dealership; likewise, it's unclear whether or not there will be more charges coming, these from the feds.