Two Political Consultants Charged with Filing False Tax Returns

PHILADELPHIA—Criminal charges were filed today against two Philadelphia-area political consultants, Peter D. Truman and Chester A. Fulton, III, charging them each with filing a false tax return, announced United States Attorney Michael L. Levy.

The information against Truman alleges that Truman, who has been involved in local politics for more than 40 years, operated a political consulting business known as Dan-Silo Consultants in which he assisted individuals wishing to run for judgeships and other political offices. Truman charged each candidate between $5,000 and $25,000 for his assistance. Truman then used his influence to assist these candidates by obtaining the support of approximately 18 or 19 ward leaders in Philadelphia who had significant control over the local electoral process. Although Truman generated approximately $700,000 in income from this business from 2001 through 2007, Truman failed to report all of that income on his federal tax returns, typically reporting less than $10,000 per year from the business. In failing to report this income, Truman caused a tax loss to the United States of more than $150,000.

According to the information against Fulton, who has been involved in local politics for more than 25 years, Fulton also operated a political consulting business that purported to assist candidates with navigating the process of running for office. Fulton charged fees of up to $50,000 for his services. For the years 2001 through 2007, Fulton earned more than $500,000 from his political consulting business, but reported virtually no net income from this business. Also, Fulton obtained a $2.5 million contract with the City of Philadelphia to operate a homeless shelter that catered to men recently released from prison. Fulton embezzled approximately $145,000 from his partners in the business that operated the homeless shelter and failed to report this on his federal tax return. Fulton caused a tax loss to the United States of approximately $70,000.

INFORMATION REGARDING THE DEFENDANTS

NAME	ADDRESS	AGE
Peter D. Truman	Millville, NJ	74 years old
Chester A. Fulton, III	Narberth, PA	53 years old

If convicted, Truman and Fulton each face a maximum sentence of up to three years' imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.

The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Richard J. Zack and Louis D. Lappen.

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