The former chief deputy for the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, Craig Taffaro, was sentenced to five years probation for tax evasion charges, according to the New Orleans Advocate.
Taffaro was accused of evading taxes of more than $75,000 between 2009 and 2014 by inflating the expenses he incurred at CTNN, an offshore oil services business he co-owned with former Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand.
Taffaro was convicted of six counts of tax evasion, five counts of filing a false tax return and one count of failing to file a tax return. He faced five years maximum in prison for each count of tax evasion, three years for each count of filing a false return and one year for failure to file a tax return.
His defense attorney argued for leniency since Taffaro served Jefferson Parish for decades and was a “first-time, non-violent offender.”