MARY FLOOD
Houston Chronicle

May 22, 2009, 5:45PM

Moral of this story: Don’t try to bribe the IRS with pizza, officials aren’t that hungry.

Ramesh G. Khilnani, 51, a native of India and a Houston-area resident, learned that lesson to the tune of the two-year prison sentence he received from a federal judge on Friday for bribing a public official.

In February 2008, the restaurant owner asked the IRS agent investigating him if she wanted to “work” for him after the audit showed Khilnani owed about $49,000 in back taxes from 2004 to 2007, a release from the office of Acting U.S. Attorney Tim Johnson said.

The auditor reported the suspicious incident to her supervisor and started recording her future meetings with Khilnani.

That’s how the IRS got him for not only nearly $50,000 in back taxes but also for offering the agent a $2,500 bribe. He delivered $2,000 of the bribe before his arrest, the release said.

Authorities said Khilnani, who is subject to deportation to India after he serves his sentence, “repeatedly offered the agent pizza from his restaurant as part of the deal.”