State: Pet waste removal business owner didn't pay tax

A Port Jefferson Station man has been arraigned on grand larceny charges for allegedly failing to pay more than $240,000 in sales tax collected from customers of his two pet waste removal companies, state and Suffolk County officials said.

Michael Micheline, 43, of 56 Clymer St., was charged Sept. 16 with grand larceny in the second degree, a felony, according to a release from the state Department of Taxation and Finance.

According to investigators, Micheline's two Long Island companies - Poop B Gone and Bone Appetite - failed to pay tax from Dec. 1, 2002, to May 31, 2008.

If convicted, Micheline faces up to 15 years in prison, prosecutors said.

Jamie Woodward, acting taxation and finance commissioner, said Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota's office - particularly the economic crimes bureau - assisted in the investigation.

Micheline was released on his own recognizance and is scheduled to be back in court on Nov. 8.

A call to Micheline's Poop B Gone company was not immediately returned.

His Patchogue attorney, William Bernstein, declined to comment.