Robert Liquindoli, a 41-year-old detective in the Waterbury police department, has been charged with one count of obstruction of the administration of the Internal Revenue laws and three counts of making false statements to federal law enforcement agents.
He was arrested on Friday and the indictment was returned on Thursday, according to U.S. Attorney David Fein.
The indictment states that Liquindoli obstructed the Internal Revenue Service from December 2011 through February 2012 by obtaining false documents that he intended to present to the IRS in support of deductions he claimed on his tax returns in 2007 and 2008.
During three separate interviews with special agents with the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, he falsely told agents that he had original and legitimate documents to support the deductions on his tax returns and denied that he had attempted to obtain false documents to support those deductions, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Liquindoli appeared before United States Magistrate Judge Thomas P. Smith in Hartford and was released on a $200,000 bond.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Christopher Mattei and Eric Glover.
Liquindoli has been placed on paid administrative leave and the police department will be conducting an internal investigation.
"In response to Detective Robert Liquindoli’s arrest this morning by FBI and IRS agents, the Waterbury Police Department has launched an internal investigation and placed Detective Liquindoli on administrative leave pending the outcome of that investigation. Detective Liquindoli joined the Waterbury Police Department in 2000 and has never been the subject of any disciplinary action. The charges against Detective Liquindoli stem from a personal tax issue and not from his activities as a Waterbury Police Detective," Chief Michael J. Gugliotti said in a statement.
