The year-round location for Manco & Manco Pizza on the Ocean City Boardwalk between 9th and 10th streets was closed Thursday (April 3).
Chuck and Mary Bangle, owners of Ocean City's popular Boardwalk pizza chain Manco & Manco, were arrested Thursday morning (April 3) by Internal Revenue Service special agents and charged with multiple counts of tax evasion.
The Bangles face a 30-count indictment, according to U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman.
The indictment includes five counts of income tax evasion for 2007 through 2011 and one count of making false statements to the IRS. Charles Bangle is also charged with 23 counts of structuring financial transactions to avoid reporting requirements, according to Fishman.
The Bangles appeared Thursday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ann Marie Donio
in Camden federal court and were released on $100,000 bail.
"Between 2007 and 2011, Charles and Mary Bangle skimmed large sums of cash from the business," according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office. "Charles Bangle deposited significant amounts of that cash into their personal bank account at TD Bank in amounts less than $10,000, the amount which triggers a Currency Transaction Report from financial institutions to the U.S. Department of Treasury."
"The Bangles then used the money to pay for personal expenditures. They concealed approximately $981,000 in income from the IRS, which they had a legal obligation to report on their personal income tax returns. Had they accurately reported all their income to the IRS, the Bangles would have owed an additional $336,273."
The Bangles claimed the deposits into their personal checking account were from cash salary earned at the pizza business.
Manco & Manco has three locations on the Ocean City Boardwalk and another on the
mainland in Somers Point. For most of the iconic chain's 58-year history in Ocean City, visitors knew the spot as Mack & Manco. Anthony Mack and Vincent Manco founded the chain in 1956. The partnership between the two families ended and the name changed in 2011. Chuck Bangle, the son-in-law of former co-owners Frank and Kay Manco, purchased a controlling interest at that time.
Chuck Bangle is the chair of Ocean City's Tourist Development Commission.
Chuck Bangle handled the day-to-day operations of the business and Mary Bangle was responsible for handling cash and payroll, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Each of the 30 counts of the indictment carries a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Jonathan D. Larsen, with the investigation.
Two Manco & Manco locations on the Ocean City Boardwalk are closed for the season. The year-round location on the 900 block of the boardwalk also was closed with a sign announcing winter hours only on Fridays through Sundays.
Bangle has not returned a call for comment.
Bangle's position as Tourist Development Commission chair would not be affected until the case is adjudicated, according to City Solicitor Dorothy McCrosson.
Read the full text of the Bangle indictment.
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