KENMORE: Wedding, prom-goers jilted when state seizes bridal shop’s assets

By Neale Gulley<br><a href="mailto:gulleyn@gnnewspaper.com">E-mail Neale</a>

Standing between a bride and her chosen wedding dress is never a good idea, but the state Department of Taxation and Finance apparently had no choice Monday.

Since Friday, a neon orange sticker bearing the word “seized” has been planted diagonally across the front door of Mary Lee’s Bridal shop on Delaware Avenue in Kenmore.

Dozens of brides-to-be, an equally anxious group of prom-goers and other customers gathered on the sidewalk in front of the store Monday afternoon, clutching their receipts as tax department employees attempted to fill existing orders two at a time.

“I’m praying to God it’s in there,” said Amanda Hergert, 25, as she peered through the store’s front window in the direction of the wedding dress she picked out months ago.

Hergert said officials from the department’s Buffalo field office called her about an hour and a half earlier.

The store, owned by Mary Lee Marino and Craig Monkelbaan, was seized Friday in light of about $10,000 in unpaid state taxes, officials say.

The owners were nowhere in sight as state employees were busy combing through the racks alongside customers, trying to fill thousands of dollars worth of orders based on whatever was in stock. While many were sent out with all or part of their orders in hand, even tax officials aren’t sure if each and every customer will be made whole.

“What we’re trying to do is sort through the inventory and contact the people, and have those people contact us so we can return the property to the rightful owner,” department Spokesman Tom Bergin said.

Hergert’s predicament is not unusual, with $1,200 in deposits tied up in the business including dress orders to outfit her entire wedding party. Her wedding is booked Aug. 8 at Church of the Advent, just across the street and a stone’s throw from all the hubbub Monday afternoon.

“Economic times are so tough right now the thought of paying for a gown twice, with bridesmaids, just absolutely nauseates me,” she said.

Stephanie Duffin, a student at Buffalo Charter School for Applied Technology, chimed in after another young lady pointed out the Kenmore West prom is just a month away.

“My friend called me on Friday and said we can’t get our dresses,” Duffin, 17, said. “They gave me a number to call and I’m like, ‘my prom’s this Friday.”

The number she was given is for Amy Esposito at the Buffalo office of the Department of Taxation and Finance. Bergin said anyone with unfinished business at Mary Lee’s should call (716) 855-5457.

Many other stories circulated on the sidewalk among people in a similarly tough situation: As prom season combines with graduations and spring wedding fever, uncertainty at the 11th hour was the last thing those gathered wanted to confront.

Celia Szczur has just three weeks to sort out her plans for a wedding scheduled May 24.

“My mom’s dress hadn’t even come in yet when it got seized,” she said.

In her case, there’s about $3,500 for dresses now caught somewhere in the supply chain, between wholesalers and the store’s inventory. Szczur wasn’t the only one concerned about orders that hadn’t yet been filled.

Bergin said the agency is doing everything it can to satisfy the customers, but admitted there is no steadfast answer available for those with orders pending or those customers who’ve put down a deposit on orders.

“We don’t know,” he said. “As of Friday, we became prom and wedding-dress business owners.”

Hergert said she’d been advised small claims court was the only available option if the dresses can’t be found. One man who said he recently retired from the department’s audit division, but who refused to be named, was in line to pick up his daughter’s wedding gown, and said small claims may not be enough if the state is in line to be compensated before all others.

“It’s rough,” he said.

Bergin admitted the timing is unfortunate, but that the business owed thousands in unpaid sales taxes.

Two separate liens were filed against the store’s assets earlier this year. Bergin said that’s just one step before a business is typically seized outright. One of the warrants was leveled in February and the second was filed last month, he said.

In general, he said paying sales tax after it has been collected on each sale is the responsibility of the retailer and that payments usually are made on a monthly or quarterly basis.

“The retailer usually sets the sales tax aside for repayment,” Bergin said, speaking in general terms, adding, “The sales tax that’s sitting there can be an awfully tempting target for someone who needs the cash.”

The news was especially troubling to Derby resident Sandra Fix, who spent more than $200 at Mary Lee’s for a dress for her daughter she couldn’t find in the right size anywhere else.

“I’ve gone to every bridal shop (in the area) to find a dress that will fit her and this is the only one,” she said.

Bergin said such seizures aren’t uncommon, and estimated scores if not hundreds of them happen each year across the state.

“It’s an act of last resort but it’s not a rare occasion,” he said, adding most businesses in a similar position try to work out a settlement with the state. Such options include deferred payments spread out over a period of time.

Contact reporter Neale Gulley at 693-1000, ext. 114.