Consultant pleads guilty to tax crimes

ST. LOUIS -- A consultant to minority-owned businesses who was part of a 1999 protest blocking morning rush hour on Interstate -70 in St. Louis pleaded guilty to filing false tax returns.

Federal prosecutor Catherine Hanaway says the false tax returns involved money 61-year-old Eddie Hasan of St. Louis received as a consultant to minority-owned businesses. His group, MOKAN, also monitored minority participation in construction contracts in St. Louis.

Hanaway says Hasan did not report earnings of more than $470,000 from 2001 to 2005. He owes $105,000 in back taxes.

He faces up to three years in prison and $100,000 in fines, when he is sentenced on October 15th. His attorney, David Capes, said Friday it was a very difficult day for Hasan and that he had cooperated with authorities.