Febus
GOSHEN – A Wappingers Falls contractor was sentenced in Orange County Court on Tuesday on his guilty pleas to three separate indictments.
Fortunato “Ken” Febus, 51, pled guilty to scheme to defraud, repeated failure to file personal income tax returns, failure to obey a tax department subpoena, criminal possession of a forged instrument and bail jumping.
Judge Craig Stephen Brown sentenced him to two and two-thirds to seven years in prison, and ordered him to pay restitution of over $195,000, more than $35,000 of which was to cover unpaid taxes due the state.
Febus had admitted that he defrauded a number of victims who had hired him as a building contractor, including a church in the Town of Wawayanda, homeowners in the cities of Newburgh and Middletown, and homeowners and business owners in Sullivan and Dutchess counties.
“Shady contractors give every legitimate contractor a bad name, aside from the financial damage that they do to the customers that they defraud, and to all of us when they don’t pay their taxes,” said Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler.
