Jury convicts 3 sect members of failing to pay taxes

Philadelphia Inquirer/December 16, 2004

A federal jury in Camden yesterday convicted three members of a South Jersey antiwar religious group of failing to withhold, report and pay income taxes.

Under federal sentencing guidelines, Joseph Donato, 46, and his wife, Inge, 44, of Mays Landing, N.J., and Kevin McKee, 47, of Egg Harbor Township, N.J., probably face two to three years in prison, officials said. U.S. District Judge Jerome B. Simandle set sentencing for April 1.

The men, members of the Restored Israel of Yahweh, operated McKee Donato Construction in Mays Landing, and failed to report more than $100,000 in employment taxes, said Andrew J. Kameros, an attorney for the Justice Department's tax division. Inge Donato was the company's bookkeeper.