Aeropo-stolen
A kickback scandal that has rocked the teen-clothing industry has escalated into a federal criminal case.
Christopher L. Finazzo, formerly the chief merchant at red-hot teen-apparel chain Aeropostale, squeezed a supplier for kickbacks over a 10-year period, a Brooklyn grand jury has charged — and funneled more than $14 million in proceeds from the fraud into an account that helped finance a lavish lifestyle.
Finazzo, 54, from the upscale Long Island town of Garden City, pocketed half the profits from Calverton, LI-based T-shirt maker South Bay Apparel in exchange for steering $350 million in business from Aeropostale to the company between 1996 and 2006, according to the charges.
Averaging $1.4 million a year, the kickbacks dwarfed Finazzo’s already generous compensation from Aeropostale, which in fiscal 2004 peaked at $1.1 million in annual salary and bonuses, the filings said.
According to the 28-count indictment, Finazzo would have South Bay owner Douglas Dey wire the kickback payments to an outside consulting company. From there, Finazzo invested in a number of area residential properties, according to local records, including his $1.6 million Garden City house.
Dey also was indicted and, like Finazzo, was charged with wire and mail fraud and money laundering. Each count carries a sentence of 20 years in prison.
Finazzo, who was fired by the retailer in 2006, also invested his ill-gotten gains in the headquarters building of Dey’s company, and a Suffolk County indoor-outdoor athletic facility called the Southbay Sportsplex. Prosecutors are looking to confiscate the property owned by a joint venture between Finazzo and South Bay, including the Sportsplex.
Finazzo also owns a swanky high-rise apartment on Central Park West, according to real-estate records.
Calls to Finazzo’s home yesterday went unanswered.