Former West Seattle restaurant, bar owner sentenced to prison for tax evasion

SEATTLE -- Eric Galanti, the former owner of three restaurants and bars in the Seattle area, was sentenced Friday in federal court to eight months in prison and ordered to pay $800,000 in restitution for multiple misdemeanor counts of failing to file tax returns.

Galanti, 41, who now lives in Olympia, failed to file his business and person tax returns between 2006 and 2012, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

Galanti owned several restaurants during that time, including the Alki Crab & Fish in West Seattle, the Admiral Pub in West Seattle, and Bourbon Jacks (aka Poppas Pub and Charlies Pub) in Kent.

At the sentencing, U.S. District Judge Richard A. Jones said  Galanti “enjoyed the lifestyle of the ‘rich and famous,’… but every single year when April 15th rolled around a light had to come on that you owed taxes…. This was a flagrant and ongoing offense.”

Prosecutors said that while Galanti failed to file and pay taxes, he enjoyed a lavish lifestyle: Using forged tax documents to facilitate his purchase of a $400,000 yacht, taking expensive trips to Hawaii, Las Vegas and the Caribbean, and paying more than $10,000 for Kenney Chesney concert tickets.