NEW YORK – Village of Walden Manager John Revella, who also serves as an Orange County legislator, has been federally indicted for allegedly filing false tax returns.
However, Revella’s attorney told Mid-Hudson News that he intends on vigorously fighting the charges. A federal grand jury charged Revella, an attorney, on March 19 in U.S. District Court in White Plains for filing bogus tax returns.
“Our initial evaluation of the charges brought against Mr. Revella is that what is being alleged is inaccurate,” said Revella’s attorney, Mark Lesko, a former federal prosecutor. “John is in good company as there are probably 100 million people in the U.S. with inaccuracies in their taxes each year. We think this is a civil matter, not a criminal matter, and will carefully evaluate the government’s evidence. We look forward to our day in court.”
According to the indictment, Revella, who runs his own law firm, allegedly cashed about 1,700 checks totaling in the range of $1.1 million from the firm’s client trust account between 2018 and 2022.
For tax years 2019 through 2022, he reported $109,150 in income from his law practice but failed to report $1,076,832, prosecutors allege, underpaying federal taxes by $383,322.
“What the indictment does not speak to is if Mr. Revella filed the appropriate deductions or was given certain tax credits,” Lesko said. “There are a number of reasons why he filed his taxes the way he did, and we may have to go to trial. We are at a loss as to why this is a criminal case, but John is entitled to his due process, and we will defend him vigorously.”
Revella, 48, a Republican, began his first term as an Orange County legislator in January. He has served as Walden Village Manager for more than a decade.
The two-page indictment can be found here: .
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