Ex-Boeing manager admits tax evasion

A former Boeing sales manager has pleaded guilty to tax evasion for trying to hide nearly $2 million from the Internal Revenue Service in a Swiss bank account.

Roberto Cittadini, of Bellevue, a former Boeing sales manager in South America, pleaded guilty Monday to a single count of filing a false tax return. His is the latest in a string of IRS prosecutions springing from the revenue service's negotiations with the Swiss bank UBS.

In February 2009, according to the Department of Justice, UBS entered into a deferred prosecution agreement and admitted to helping U.S. taxpayers hide accounts from the IRS. Part of the deal involved identifying some U.S. account holders, including the 67-year-old Cittadini.

So far, five others have been prosecuted, including an accountant and a yacht dealer in Florida and others in California, New York and New Jersey, according to an IRS news release.

"This is a time of reckoning for those who thought they had found a safe haven for cheating," said U.S. Attorney Jenny Durkan. "People who avoid paying their fair share hurt all of us who follow the law and conscientiously pay our taxes."

A news release from Durkan's office said Cittadini had initially opened an account at UBS in the early 1990s in his own name.

Documents and statements in court showed that in 2001, banker Hansruedi Schumaker, who was indicted in 2009 for tax evasion, helped Cittadini transfer his assets to a Hong Kong entity to evade U.S. reporting requirements.

From 2001 to 2003, Cittadini's account held as much as $1.86 million. A plea agreement filed in court stated he had received the money he deposited in the bank through an inheritance from his family in Argentina.

As part of his plea agreement, Cittadini has agreed to cooperate with federal agents in the investigation of other individuals involved in criminal activity, according to the news release.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Mary Alice Theiler set sentencing for Jan. 8. Cittadini faces up to three years in prison and fines of up to $250,000. He also will have to pay a large civil penalty.

Mike Carter: 206-464-3706 or mcarter@seattletimes.com