February 24, 2017
Manco & Manco Pizza/Facebook
Ocean City's famous Manco & Manco Pizza announce Wednesday, June 29, 2016 on Facebook that the restaurant's owners had purchased the former Strand Movie Theatre on the Ocean City Boardwalk. The owners says they will redevelop the property to became their new "flagship" store, set to open April 2017.
The owners of Ocean City's celebrated Manco & Manco pizza chain were sentenced Friday in a tax evasion scheme dating back to 2010, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced Friday.
Charles and Mary Bangle, of Somers Point, had already pleaded guilty to evading taxes related to the couple's three stores, two in Ocean City and one in Somers Point. The couple purchased a controlling interest in the former Mack & Manco chain in 2011, facilitated by Mary's relationship as the daughter of Frank Manco, who opened the first restaurant with Dominic "Duke" Mack in 1956 at Ninth Street and the Boardwalk.
In 2015, Charles Bangle pleaded guilty to one count of federal tax evasion, while Mary Bangle admitted she lied to IRS agents about cash receipts for the business that were instead used on personal expenses and bank accounts.
Prosecutors said Charles Bangle failed to report $263,113 in income and avoided more than $91,000 in taxes. To escape federal reporting requirements, he also made cash deposits under $10,000 in February 2011.
Last summer, despite the guilty plea, Manco & Manco announced that it would redevelop the former Strand Theatre as a flagship store at the company's original Ocean City location. The three existing shops are located near Eighth and 12th streets on the Boardwalk and at Ocean Heights Plaza on Bethel Road in Somers Point. Plans for the redevelopment were approved last October by the Ocean City planning board.
Charles Bangle, 57, was sentenced Friday to 15 months in prison and ordered to pay $248,560 in restitution, with an additional $5,000 fine. Mary Bangle, 56, was sentenced three years probation and a fine of $3,000.
