Former Chief Financial Officer of Catholic Diocese of Cleveland Convicted of Conspiracy & Filing...

CLEVELAND, July 3 DOJ-Cleveland-Diocese CLEVELAND, July 3 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A federal jury returned guilty verdicts today against Joseph H. Smith, the former Treasurer, Chief Financial Officer and Legal Secretary for the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland, the Justice Department announced. Smith, an attorney and certified public accountant, was convicted on six tax charges after a six-week trial in a Cleveland federal court. The jury acquitted Smith of mail fraud and conspiracy to commit mail fraud. Smith's co-defendant, Anton Zgoznik, was convicted in October 2007 of similar charges. Zgoznik is a former Diocese employee who owned and operated several corporations that provided accounting, tax, financial and computer technology services for the Diocese. According to the indictment and evidence established during trial,... [read full story]