Stein gets year in jail for tax fraud

0 Comments | Philadelphia Daily News, January, 2006 | by MICHAEL HINKELMAN

IN A DRAMATIC and emotional plea before a federal judge yesterday, the man credited with reviving the Center City restaurant scene asked for leniency.

"I'm not a crook. I take complete responsibility for my actions. I ask that you not send me to jail," Neil Stein pleaded, reading from a prepared text.

But U.S. District Court Judge Louis H. Pollak was having none of it.

He sentenced the groundbreaking restaurateur to a year plus one day in a federal prison camp and one year of supervised release after his sentence is served. He gave Stein 60 days to surrender voluntarily.

With time off for good behavior, Stein is likely to serve 10 to 11 months.

He must also pay the IRS and the state Revenue Department. Stein owes the IRS more than $398,000 in...