Bridal shop owner told to make restitution -- in prom dresses

A Wheaton man has pleaded guilty to shortchanging the state $250,000 in sales tax - to the benefit of girls attending their high-school proms for years to come.

Dale Budziecki, 64, owner of House of Brides Inc. in Glen Ellyn, pleaded guilty in Cook County Circuit Court Monday to one count of filing a fraudulent tax return, a Class 3 felony. According to Attorney General Lisa Madigan's office, from November 2005 through June 2006 Budziecki understated the amount of sales and overstated the amount of deductions on his company's tax returns to the benefit of more than $250,000.

Budziecki was ordered to serve 30 months probation and pay almost $280,000 in restitution, as well as to perform 250 hours of community service and donate 500 dresses a year to the Glass Slipper Project, an Illinois agency that collects prom dresses and distributes them to needy Chicago high-school students, for the next three years.

"I am pleased to have worked with the Department of Revenue to obtain a guilty verdict in this case," Madigan said. "As a result of this work, the state will recover the sales tax owed and, through the required community service, many young women who want to attend their high-school prom will have that opportunity."