FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE TAX FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 1994 (202) 514-2007 NEW YORK MAN IMPRISONED, FINED FOR WHITE COLLAR CRIME WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A New York man who pleaded guilty to stealing $204,000 in corporate funds from Sperry/Unisys Corporation today was sentenced to 41 months in jail, fined $40,000 and ordered to pay $204,000 in restitution, the Department of Justice announced. Steven S. Monas of the Long Island community of Roslyn was sentenced by Chief Judge Thomas C. Platt of U.S. District Court in New York. Monas, former director of the company's New Business Development Office in its Air Force Programs Division, also was placed on three years supervised release following his prison sentence. According to a November 1992 indictment, Monas, through the use of fictitious and "phantom" consultant agreements, stole the money from the company's Great Neck, New York, office, then, along with other coconspirators who were not charged in this case, laundered the proceeds through a legitimate business in Connecticut to hide the theft. Monas pleaded guilty to all four counts of the indictment in April, one day before his trial was to start. In addition to the money laundering and conspiracy charges, Monas was indicted for receipt of stolen monies and tax fraud. Assistant Attorney General Loretta C. Argrett, in charge of the Tax Division, praised the efforts of all of the law enforcement agencies involved in the investigation. "White collar crime is a priority matter in the Department of Justice," said Argrett. "Those who are tempted to commit such offenses should know that the Department will investigate and prosecute." The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service's Criminal Investigation Division; the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Department of Defense's Defense Criminal Investigative Service; and the Department of Navy's Naval Criminal Investigative Service. ##### 94-547