Marco Denis pleads guilty to federal gun, tax charges 

In a plea agreement, former Plaza Towers owner Marco Denis pleaded guilty this morning during a brief court hearing to two counts of amended federal gun and tax charges. U.S. Magistrate Judge David P. Rush accepted Denis’s guilty plea, according to online federal court records.  

Earlier in the case, a Jan. 6 trial date had been set after Denis was indicted in August 2024 by a federal grand jury for allegedly possessing eight firearms illegally and lying about his criminal record when buying two of the weapons, according to past Springfield Business Journal reporting. That trial date is moot, online federal court records show. 

The two-count indictment filed by prosecutors today as part of the plea agreement accuses Denis of knowingly possessing eight firearms despite a 2003 third-degree misdemeanor domestic assault conviction. It also accuses Denis of falsely declaring just less than $65,000 in personal income on his 2023 tax return, despite receiving income in addition to the amount prosecutors say Denis stated on his return.  

Prosecutors say Denis’ gun charge is a Class C felony punishable by not more than 15 years in prison, a maximum $250,000 fine and no more than three years of supervised release. The charge of filing a false tax return is a Class E felony punishable with no more than three years in prison, a maximum $250,000 fine and no more than one year of supervised release. 

The 20-page plea deal outlines facts underlying Denis’ plea agreement, including purchase dates for each of the eight firearms in his possession and an accounting of some $57,000 in rental income Denis earned in 2023 through his company Springfield Property LLC, which he failed to report to the IRS, prosecutors say. 

Denis was in custody on Monday following his court hearing, federal court records show.  

A sentencing hearing date did not yet appear in online court dockets. 

In an interview today, Denis’ defense attorney, Joseph Passanise of Wampler & Passanise Law Office PC, said Denis’ legal team has been working on a plea agreement for some time. 

“Marco was very appreciative of the U.S. Attorney’s offer,” Passanise said. “He wanted to get the matter behind him and accept responsibility for his conduct today. This starts Marco on the path to bring closure to this chapter in his life, as Marco came from nothing, becoming a very successful businessman and hopes to recover from these unfortunate events.” 

Randall Eggert, a staff attorney with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri who appears on some court filings in the case, referred questions to a Department of Justice spokesperson.  

Denis was initially arrested and jailed in mid-July 2024 amid Greene County Circuit Court charges of domestic assault and kidnapping. Firearms were discovered by law enforcement officers in the course of that investigation, according to past reporting. 

Plaza Towers was sold in a trustee’s sale earlier this year after OMB Bank filed suit against Springfield Property to start foreclosure proceedings.