The Maui News

Wailuku Dr. Michael Savona was arrested Thursday in Kahului on tax violation charges, according to an announcement from the state Department of Taxation.

He was taken into custody by special agents from the Tax Department and deputy sheriffs from the state Department of Public Safety.

Savona, an internal medicine physician, was charged in 2nd Circuit Court with five counts of willful failure to pay withholding taxes for tax years 2011 through 2015; two counts of willful failure to file income tax returns for tax years 2011 and 2012; and five counts of willful failure to file general excise tax returns for tax years 2011 through 2015.

He faces imprisonment for up to five years, probation and a fine of not more than $100,000 for each felony count if convicted of willfully failing to collect and pay over taxes. And, he could be imprisoned for as much as a year, receive probation and be assessed a fine of up to $25,000 for each count of willfully failing to file income tax and general excise tax returns.

A phone call to Savona’s Wells Street office late Thursday afternoon connected with an answering machine that referred after-hours calls to his pager. There was no response to a call to his pager.