Community Corner

Humphrey's Grille & Bar Owner Arrested

Wallingford restaurant owner charged with tax evasion

A local restaurant owner has been arrested on tax evasion charges after investigators say he failed to pay $132,000 in state sales tax.

Anthony Prifitera, 43, of Durham turned himself in to Department of Revenue Tax Enforcement Agents Thursday at the East Haven Police Department.

Prifitera, who operates three Humphrey’s Grille & Bar restaurants located in Wallingford, Branford and Wethersfield, is charged with 29 counts of failure to pay sales tax.

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“By not paying those taxes collected from his customers, Mr. Prifitera has not only cheated the state, he has broken his patron’s faith in his business,” said DRS Commissioner Kevin B. Sullivan, who added that the tax is considered a trust tax because it is paid by customers to merchants, who are then required to turn the money over to the state.

Investigators did not say when Prifitera is accused of failing to make payments.

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He faces ten counts of failure to pay more than $61,000 in sales tax at the Humphrey's restaurant on North Colony Road in Wallingford, which he operated under the name Chapter 2 LLC. 

He was charged with nine counts of failure to pay more than $32,000 in sales tax at the Humphrey's on Sycamore Way in Branford, which he operated under the name APPD LLC. 

Prifitera also was charged with ten counts of failure to pay more than $39,000 in sales tax for the Humphrey's on the Silas Deane Highway in Wethersfield, which he operated under the name Chapter 3 LLC.

Prifitera was released after posting a $35,000 surety bond. He's scheduled to appear in Hartford Superior Court on April 26.

If convicted on all counts, he could face up to 29 years in prison.


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