NEW YORK (AP) -- A Manhattan restaurant owner has admitted evading hundreds of thousands of dollars in corporate and sales taxes from his businesses.
Prosecutors say Yuval Aroety stole state and city sales taxes collected at his two Nargila Grill restaurants, and his catering business.
They say he also underreported corporate taxes for 2007 for one of the restaurants and sales taxes owed by bagel bakeries he owned.
Aroety, who's 49, pleaded guilty Wednesday to second-degree grand larceny. His plea deal requires him to pay $539,082 in taxes, interest and penalties, and $60,000 in fines.
If he fails to comply with the plea agreement, he faces a year in jail.
Defense lawyer James Druker says Aroety's tax problems mostly "stemmed from bad record keeping.''