Jeweler charged with failing to pay $50G in sales tax

A Huntington jeweler was arrested and charged with collecting but failing to pay more than $50,000 in state sales tax over a 5-year period, officials said Friday.

Ronald Adolf, 54, owner of Ronnie's Dezyns, Ltd., located at 6 Elm St., was arrested April 16 and charged with second degree grand larceny, according to the state taxation and finance department. The sales tax funds Adolf is accused of keeping were collected on sales between March 1 2002, and February 28, 2007, officials said. Adolf could not be reached for comment.

Suffolk District Attorney Thomas Spota, quoted in a statement issued by the department, said that since Oct. 2005 a specific county DA unit has been focusing their efforts in conjunction with state sales tax investigators on this type of issue.

"To date, we have secured over $5 million dollars in restitution to the Suffolk County and state treasuries," Spota said.

Adolf was arraigned in First District Court, Central Islip, and released on $1,000 bail, officials said. He was next scheduled to appear in district court on June 15.