Upper East Side Gallery Owner Guilty of Tax Fraud

The owner of an Upper East Side art gallery that specializes in Chinese art has pleaded guilty to personal and corporate tax fraud totaling $1.1 million, the Manhattan district attorney, Robert Morgenthau, announced yesterday.

Michael Weisbrod, who manages the Weisbrod Chinese Art gallery, pleaded guilty to charges that he has not collected sales tax on the retail sale of art from the gallery since 2000, and owes $150,000 in personal city and state taxes.

Weisbrod, 57, must file amended personal tax returns, must repay the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance for unpaid sales taxes and corporation taxes, and faces $600,000 in fines, Mr. Morgenthau said. He will likely be sentenced to conditional discharge in April.

There was no answer at the gallery and a message left at Weisbrod's home was not returned.

The gallery's inventory includes sculptures, vases, and other figures made out of ceramic, jade, porcelain, and bronze.