Former Yankees secretary spared prison time for false tax return
NEW HAVEN, Conn.—A former New York Yankees traveling secretary was spared prison time Friday for failing to report tips from players and coaches.
David Szen, 56, of Brookfield was sentenced to two years probation and a $7,500 fine. He also must pay back more than $10,000 in taxes on the tips he didn't report.
He apologized in court and says the case cost him his job and his reputation.
"I was wrong in not reporting all my income and I humbly apologize," Szen said. "I can assure you you won't see me back here again."
Szen could have faced up to three years in prison, though federal guidelines called for zero to six months.
Szen was the Yankees' media relations director in 1982, later worked for the Seattle Mariners and returned to the Yankees in the 1990s as traveling secretary, arranging charter flights, buses and hotel rooms for the team.
Szen pleaded guilty in December to filing a false tax return and admitted he failed to report more than $50,000 in tips from players and coaches. He was fired.
Szen received tips ranging from a few hundred dollars to $10,000 for services provided to unidentified coaches and players during the baseball season.
Authorities said the tax loss was $10,285 based on underreporting of $53,350 over five years.
Prosecutor John Durham did not take a position on whether Szen should go to prison. He did say underreporting of tips is an extensive problem in the sports industry.
U.S. District Judge Mark Kravitz said he takes such crimes very seriously. He praised Szen for a long history of volunteering in the community but said he imposed the fine because he did not want others to think they could get away with similar behavior.
"That's not an attitude I want to encourage," he said. "There will be a heavy price to pay."
