Monroe business associates were arrested Tuesday on felony charges filed by the North Carolina Department of Revenue.

Maria L. Vordonis, 49, of 3214 Summerfield Drive, Monroe, the President of Landsdown Earth & Pipe, Inc., was charged with nine counts of Embezzlement of State Property.  Vincenzo Labarbera, 48, of 7406 Concord Highway, Monroe, the President of Landsdown Corporation, was charged with two counts of Embezzlement of State Property.

The arrest warrants for Vordonis and Labarbera have alleged that each held the position as President and were the responsible persons of the corporations which showed that Vordonis assisted, or aided and abetted Landsdown Earth & Pipe, Inc. to embezzle, misapply, and convert to its’ own use approximately $67,131.00 in North Carolina Withholding Tax during the period January 1, 2009 through January 31, 2018, and that Labarbera assisted, or aided and abetted Landsdown Corporation to embezzle, misapply, and convert to its’ own use approximately $12,170.00 in North Carolina Withholding Tax during the period January 1, 2016 through January 31, 2018.  

During this period of time, Vordonis and Labarbera were the responsible persons of the corporations, which were under a duty to collect, hold in trust, and remit North Carolina Withholding Taxes to the North Carolina Department of Revenue.

Vordonis and Labarbera appeared before a Union County magistrate and were each placed under at $10,000.00 bond.  Both are scheduled for a first appearance in Wake County District Court on December 2, 2020.  

The charges against Vordonis and Labarbera resulted from an investigation by special agents with the Department’s Criminal Investigations Division in Raleigh.