NYC's Bagel King Goes Down
Bad news for bagel-loving Upper West Siders: Helmer Toro, the owner of H&H, was placed in handcuffs this morning:
Manhattan District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau announced the indictment and arrest of the owner of H & H Bagels for stealing withholding taxes and evading unemployment insurance tax in connection with his wholesale and retail bagel business. The defendant, Helmer Toro, 59, has been indicted on charges of grand larceny, offering a false instrument for filing and violating the labor law through unemployment insurance tax rate manipulation. The crimes charged in the indictment occurred between July 31, 2003 and April 24, 2009.
Toro is scheduled to be arraigned later today and faces up to 15 years in prison where, it's worth noting, bagels are not served. [Manhattan DA via BI]