A onetime financial savior of the Trump Tower Tampa project pleaded guilty Tuesday to evading more than $170-million in federal taxes. Frank Amodeo, former head of Mirabilis Ventures Inc., is accused of buying up companies, many in payroll services, and using withheld employee taxes to buy more companies. "I erroneously believed that we were allowed to defer payment. … That was not the case, and I deeply regret my failure to fully comply with the tax code," Amodeo said in a statement after issuing a plea in federal court in Orlando. In 2006, Trump Tower developer SimDag LLC engaged Amodeo to provide more than $200-million to build a 52-story luxury condo tower under license from New York tycoon Donald Trump. The deal fell apart. As part of Amodeo's defense, witnesses said the former financial wizard suffers from a bipolar illness that has left him with delusions of ruling the world.
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