NORTH HAVEN -- For anyone who is concerned with Virginia "Ginny" Mazzaro's state of mind as she faces five months in jail for tax evasion, know that she is OK.

She is looking at imprisonment - set to begin July 1 - as something that has to happen, a result of what she calls sloppy bookkeeping and mistakes she made at the business she owns and runs with her family, J. Roo's, a restaurant and sports bar on State Street.

According to the federal government, Mazzaro failed to pay about $669,000 in taxes over five years. She has pleaded guilty to one count of filing a false federal tax return.

"I'm so sorry, so sorry, of course. That's the main thing I've been lamenting for a year," she said Saturday. "I feel like it's over now."

As she talked, she was flanked by her husband, Salvatore Mazzaro, and two of her three children, Ashley, 27, and Jason, 34, when they took a brief break from working. Son Adam, 29, continued to work, keeping an eye on the time because a party would soon take over the space where they were talking about those who've helped them in their time of need. The Mazzaros are known for making donations to many organizations and people in town.

On Thursday, Virginia Mazzaro received a 10-month prison sentence, the first five months in a minimum security federal prison and the second five months on home confinement, during which time she will be allowed to work, go to medical appointments and attend church. The prison term will be followed by a year of supervised release. She also has to pay a $5,000 fine on top of the more than $1.4 million she's already paid in back taxes, penalties and interest, a condition of her plea agreement. This week, she will pay $145,960 in unpaid federal payroll taxes.

Prosecutors from the U.S. attorney's office had said a 24- to 30-month sentence was more appropriate for the crime she committed.

But on Thursday in U.S. District Court in Hartford, Judge Alfred V. Covello took into account Mazzaro's prior good deeds and gave her a lesser sentence. Hundreds of people and organizations wrote letters on her behalf, and her attorney, Richard Meehan, only submitted about 20 percent of them to the court.

And it is those people and organizations that the Mazzaros wish to thank.

"I want to thank the people. They did a lot," she said, noting that she got the kind of recognition from friends, family and acquaintances that one usually gets when one passes away. "I didn't have to pass away to witness the outpouring from things I did so many years back. I'm overwhelmed with that.

"How can I thank these people? They were a tremendous help for me and I really appreciate it," she said.

Ginny Mazzaro said that many people have stopped by the restaurant or called since the sentencing saying they're disappointed with the result.

But she's not. "I feel lucky."

"I'm OK. I'm OK with this. I feel the judge did a good job," she said.

A neighbor, Lisa Cassella, is one of the folks who is disappointed with the fact that her friend has to serve any time at all. Two years ago, the Mazzaros were among those who got together to hold a fundraiser for her daughter, Marissa, now 18, who suffers from Lyme disease. "I was hoping, based on the public's view, that she would be forgiven," Cassella said.

The Mazzaros also know that there are those out there who feel that she got off easy.

"There are so many more with us than against us. People are knocking our doors down, worried about me. Who am I?" Ginny Mazzaro said, adding that she responds to those who are concerned with a "It's only me. What are you worried about?' People took it to heart and I was blown away by that."

Ginny Mazzaro grew up on State Street, a member of the well-known Tenedine family, which once owned a bowling alley at Quinnpiac and Montowese avenues. She started working there when she was 11. Her parents added a bar and then in 1984, Vic's Pizza started up. The business has always been in her name.

About nine years ago, J. Roo's, incorporating Vic's Pizza, moved to State Street, and the business grew bigger than anyone could handle, and that's where the problems began, son Jason Mazzaro said.

The Mazzaros said their life changed on Dec. 15, 2009, when investigators from the crime division of the Internal Revenue Service swooped in on them. To this day, they said they don't know what prompted the investigation.

Luckily, Ginny Mazzaro said, they do not live extravagantly, work all the time and saved their money, so they were able to pay back the government.

Jason Mazzaro said they are all to blame for not paying more attention to the business side of the business. They now have the professional oversight they need in tax accountant James Crozier, they said. Previously, a family friend from New Jersey did their taxes.

There wasn't enough oversight "for the amount we were taking in" because the business grew rapidly once they moved into the new building almost nine years ago, Jason Mazzaro said. "We had 10 employees. Now we have 72."

They also didn't use the restaurant's computer to its full advantage, and Ginny, who had always handled the money, kept information on pieces of paper.

"We didn't have the right supervision. But we've moved on," Sal Mazzaro said, thanking Crozier, attorneys Meehan and Todd Bussert and forensic accountant Tony Carpeniello. "We had a great team."

"I learned I have to get more professional help," she said.

In the coming months, Ginny Mazzaro said she will be teaching her children to "do a lot of things" so that they can take over her duties when she is imprisoned.

"I don't think it's going to be a real bad place. It's OK," said Ginny Mazzaro.

She's hoping prison officials will give her a job.

"She will work the whole time if they let her," Jason Mazzaro said.
