Nick Sacco ’93 spent 23.5 years as an IRS special agent. He helped organize an IRS Citizen's Day at Moravian in October 2024, where he and his colleagues put on a mock criminal investigation. At the end of the day, Sacco was "arrested" for tax fraud.
Nick Sacco ’93 has spent the better part of his career as an IRS special agent, following in the footsteps of Frank Wilson, the agent who arrested notorious crime boss Al Capone. “We investigate any crimes that have to do with money, and almost 99 percent of crimes involve money!” Sacco says. “Drug dealers don’t report any income; our agents seize their assets and then charge them with money laundering and tax evasion.” Working with local law enforcement and with the DEA, the FBI, and Homeland Security, “we get called in to investigate crimes from tax angles,” he says.
Sacco’s journey at Moravian began by exploring engineering, physics, and math before focusing on accounting/management as his major. “The people I met and the education I received at Moravian molded me into who I am.” After beginning his career in finance—selling mutual funds, annuities, and various types of insurance—he became a retirement plan specialist, assisting clients with IRAs, 401(k)s, and other instruments that fund retirement.
While he worked in the private sector, Sacco’s longer-term objective was “working with the FBI. My goal was to be part of a federal agency within five years. It took seven years to join the IRS, so I was close!” Through a friend, he learned about the role of special agent with IRS Criminal Investigation, the perfect way to combine his financial knowledge with his desire to investigate crime.
Sacco and his fellow agents investigate cases of identity theft, tax evasion, falsification of tax returns, and more. When asked about the many situations he’s investigated over the years, he says, “They’re all rewarding when we get to the end and see justice prevail. These people are cheating the tax system. Some people think that means it’s just the government losing money, but that’s not true; it’s all the government agencies our taxes help support. Taxes pay for many, many government expenses for many, many people.”
Sacco’s undergraduate experience has been invaluable to his career. “I retained what I learned at Moravian and used it in my training courses with the agency. You have to be knowledgeable about accounting but also be a hard worker; able to get into the thick of things and be detail oriented. Some cases take years!” In addition to classes in finance, agents learn about firearms, ground defense, building entry, and defensive tactics, plus physical fitness, emergency response driving, and more. They carry a badge and a gun and wear bullet-proof vests.
To current accounting students at Moravian who are considering their career options, Sacco notes that “every job has its good and bad days. Sometimes there’s a lot of administrative work, but this job is what you make of it—in the office one day working on spreadsheets, making an arrest on another day, serving a warrant on another. Some people have gone overseas for their cases; we work with attachés all over the globe. There’s a lot you can do with this job.”
Special agents are required to retire after 23.5 years of service, and Sacco recently accepted a position as senior financial investigator and VP at Truist Bank, covering the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He plans to continue his role as assistant football coach at Moravian. After 17 years with the Hounds, he notes, “I love it. I love the players, and if I can help one kid in their lifetime, that means the world to me.”—Renee James ’80