Whether cutting suits or paying taxes, Mohanbhai Ramchandani, of
Mohan's Custom Tailors, displayed a knack for making all sorts of
figures fit.
His finely woven works hung just as beautifully on towering basketball
stars, among them Patrick Ewing and Wilt Chamberlain, as on
Knickerbockers better known for political prowess, like former Mayors
Rudolph W. Giuliani and Edward I. Koch.
But in paying his taxes, Mr. Ramchandani apparently preferred a more
severe cut. Over a decade, his revered little studio near Grand
Central Terminal brought in $28 million — but reported only $5.6
million on tax returns.
On Tuesday, Mr. Ramchandani appeared in State Supreme Court in
Manhattan wearing a dark blue three-piece suit (two buttons, natural
shoulders). He admitted to collecting $1.7 million in taxes from
customers that he did not pay and to underpaying his personal income
taxes by $256,000.
In his first court appearance, he pleaded guilty to tax evasion
charges, and agreed to serve a prison sentence of one to three years
and to pay $5.5 million in back taxes and penalties within two years.
"As an immigrant to the United States, I have worked hard all my life
to build a good business, support my family and contribute to the
community," Mr. Ramchandani said in a statement. "I made several
mistakes with regard to the payment of taxes and I take full
responsibility for my actions."
Mr. Ramchandani, 66, enjoyed renown as the tailor to New York's
premier athletes. In a 1993 profile in The New York Times, he recalled
coming here from India in 1972 and toiling in relative obscurity,
offering conservative suits for bankers and accountants.
In 1984, Mr. Ewing's mother called wanting a custom suit for her son,
then a star at Georgetown University in Washington. Mr. Ramchandani
took a discount bus to the college and measured Mr. Ewing in his dorm
room.
When Mr. Ewing joined the New York Knicks, Mr. Ramchandani asked him
to appear in newspaper advertisements for his store. Soon, dozens of
professional athletes flocked to his suite on the 14th floor of 60
East 42nd Street.
Eventually, the most flamboyant-dressing jock of his time showed up:
Walt Frazier, the former Knicks star nicknamed Clyde. "I used to see
Mike advertising Ewing and Mark Jackson," Mr. Frazier told The Times
20 years ago. "So I went over there a couple of years ago, and I said:
'Hey, man, I'm the dress guy. What are you doing with these guys? I'm
the Clyde.' "
Mr. Ramchandani's legal troubles began when a former employee, Vijay
Tharwani, filed a whistle-blower lawsuit against him, which led to
charges being filed by the state attorney general's office. Under the
terms of the plea and settlement agreement, Mr. Tharwani will receive
$1.1 million from the money Mr. Ramchandani is to repay.
Investigators poring through his tax records noticed an odd (or,
rather, even) trend: the digits of the store's reported sales figures
always added up to multiples of 10. So for one quarter, Mr.
Ramchandani claimed to owe sales taxes of $13,484, the individual
digits of which add up to 20.
The man with the measuring tape around his neck, it turns out,
believes in numerology.
"There are no excuses for tax cheats, regardless of how prominent they
are," said Eric T. Schneiderman, the New York attorney general. Mr.
Ramchandani's lawyer, James O. Druker, said his client admitted his
guilt as soon as authorities called with questions about his taxes. He
also expects his client will plead guilty to federal charges, not yet
formally filed, this summer.
Justice Larry Stephen released Mr. Ramchandani, who lives in Queens,
without bail until his formal sentencing in the state case, scheduled
for September.
Mr. Druker said the business should survive Mr. Ramchandani's time in
prison garb. "He's got a healthy business," the lawyer said. "There's
no reason why it shouldn't continue."
Edna Ishayik contributed reporting.
nytimes
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