Snipes sentenced to three years

[Famspear]

Confirmed; Snipes sentenced to three years in prison. Sources to be added later.

No word on Rosile or Kahn.

[Famspear]

Here are some links:

http://www.wesh.com/news/15979487/detail.html

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/loc ... 9381.story

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,352370,00.html

[AFTP]

My question is, with his high profile will he get a private cell or general population and will he get out early for good behavior?

[LAprosecutor]

The maximum good-time credit in the federal system is 15% of a sentence, so Snipes can expect to serve 85% of his three-year term (more than 2.5 years). And with a 3-year sentence and no criminal record, he can expect assignment to a minimum-security prison or a camp (no walls), so his celebrity status shouldn't be much of an issue for his personal security.

[Famspear]

Here's an excerpt from a story with a bit of drama..... (or, is it melodrama?).....

Snipes sentencing full of pathos, humor, personal tragedy

[by Anthony Violanti
Ocala Star-Banner
April 24, 2008]

OCALA - Wesley Snipes never before played a role so filled with drama, pathos, humor and personal tragedy.

On a day when he gave up $5 million and was sentenced to three years in prison, Snipes was left wondering where celluloid madness ends and real life begins.

"I never imagined in my life I would be imitating roles I played on screen," the famed actor said in federal court Thursday before Senior U.S. District Judge William Terrell Hodges.

"I acknowledge I failed myself my family and the community," Snipes added. "I ask this court to show me mercy."

There was no happy ending and no mercy. That only happens in the movies.

[ . . . ]Snipes offered a stoic and somber facade. He was dressed in a dark black suit and tie. His mood was more funereal than tough. Snipes sat at a long table with five attorneys, and his Sphinx-like, chiseled profile showcased a tense face filled with tight angular lines. He would lean back in a blue-cushioned chair and stare at the proceedings, through his black-rimmed glasses with their small rectangular frames.

He watched quite a show, and the script included long-rambling arguments and pleas by Snipes' attorneys. Also, there was testimony from character witnesses, including TV Judge Joe Brown. Unintentional laughs seemed to come every 15 minutes. The ringmaster of this legal circus was cantankerous Judge Hodges, who had little patience with Snipes' attorney Carmen Hernandez.

The following dialogue was an example of their sometimes contentious, sometimes outrageous repartee.

"Judge, I pay taxes, you pay taxes, everyone in this courtroom pays taxes," Hernandez said.

"Not everyone," Hodges shot back, with a glance at the defendant's table.

It was Hernandez who first told the court about a $5 million check, right after the lunch break, as a payment for some of Snipes' back taxes over the past eight years. Soon that event nearly turned into an episode of "Deal or No Deal."

Hodges said he had no authority to take it. He then offered it to the prosecutors, who also claimed no authority to bag the dough. "I'll take it," said Daniel Meachum, Snipes' lead attorney. "Now, it's in my pocket." Eventually the money was turned over to a representative of the U.S. Treasury Department.

Sideshows were everywhere, including the sentencing of two co-defendants: Eddie Ray Kahn and Douglas Rosile.

Snipes seemed gloomy at the mere sight of Kahn, who entered the courtroom looking like Marley's ghost. He was wearing shackles on his ankles and dressed in an orange striped prison outfit, over white long johns, with white socks and orange plastic prison sandals. Hodges sentenced him to 10 years.

Rosile, a former accountant, seemed typecast as a balding, book-wormish numbers cruncher, wearing a blue shirt, open at the collar, under an unbuttoned blue sport coat. Hodges gave him 54 months.

[ . . . ]

Hernandez [ . . . ] accused the government of going after Snipes, because "he's Wesley Snipes. ... A celebrity."

Meachum agreed.

"The government is not interested in collecting taxes," the defense attorney said. "They're big game hunters."

[ . . . ]

When it came time for the sentence, there was no literary relief. Hodges said Snipes must serve 36 months. Nikki Park, Snipes' wife, wearing a black jacket and dress, slumped in her first row seat and sobbed as a beefy security guard on the Snipes team put his arm around her shoulder.

Then, as Snipes was walking across the courtroom, he came within a few feet of his wife, stretched out his right arm toward her and seemed to whisper, "I love you," as he walked by to meet with court officers.

Park left the courtroom, held up by two men, crying and barely able to walk. Moments later she collapsed in a stairwell, in tears.

Anthony Violanti can be reached at anthony.violanti@starbanner.com 352-867-4154.

from:

http://www.ocala.com/article/20080424/N ... al_tragedy

[grixit]

And the tardesphere will blame her collapse on the prosecution, when it really is another result of Snipes's actions.

[LPC]

The Snipes' sentence shows that, when it comes to tax crimes, size *does* matter.

[Dezcad]

As I said here, I saw it coming.

[Famspear]

As I said here, I saw it coming.

You can definitely say that you told us so. We bow to your prescience, Dezcad.

[Dezcad]

If only Snipe's lawyers listened to the crackheads (see the below post from LH):

Victoria
I wrote Snipes high profile lawyer in an email explaining what immediatley needed to be done to defend Snipes from failure to file and the reasoning behind it including CtC sound law. His lack of response was predictable and expected, and to me shows his loyalty to the system, and not the law. This is why Americans must educate themselves.. all those self appointed defenders are more ignorant - or more so - than the man on the street! Using one for court procedure would be their only value IMO.
The IRS got a big fish - while the school of smaller ones swim along.

[Dezcad]

Here's a news video about the sentencing, which includes a brief interview with Judge Joe Brown of TV fame.

[grixit]

As I said here, I saw it coming.

"Up and At 'Em"

[Famspear]

Excerpt from a CNN report:

Snipes' jail time: A tax-protest 'wake-up call'

A Hollywood actor's tax protest ends in jail time - a "loud and crystal-clear message" to resisters who believe they and their employees owe no income tax.

by Brandi Stewart
April 25, 2008

FORTUNE Small Business) -- Actor Wesley Snipes was sentenced Thursday to three years in prison for failing to file tax returns. Despite surprising the court with a $5 million down payment on his outstanding tax balance, Snipes received the maximum jail time requested by federal prosecutors.

"The three-year sentence sends a loud and crystal-clear message to any would-be tax defier that if you engage in this illegal conduct, you can and will go to prison," said Nathan Hochman, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department's tax division.

The case's lead prosecutor, U.S. Attorney Robert O'Neill, echoed that assessment.

"The courts sent a really clear message that Americans must file and pay taxes," he said. "If you have a legitimate dispute with the IRS, contact the IRS and dispute what you believe you're due and owe. You can't just totally fail to satisfy your legal obligation like Mr. Snipes did."

[ . . . ]

Snipes' attorneys argued that their client innocently fell victim to poor tax advice provided by his two co-defendants, Eddie Ray Kahn and Douglas Rosile.

Kahn and Rosile were both convicted in February on felony charges of tax fraud and conspiracy. They were sentenced yesterday to 10 years and 54 months in jail, respectively.

Snipes was convicted on three misdemeanor counts but was acquitted of serious felony charges, a verdict that was seen as a victory in the eyes of some tax protestors.

However, insurance analyst JJ MacNab, who is working on a book about the tax-protest movement, believes that the sentencing has sent a wake-up call to members of the defiant community, many of whom are small-business owners.

"There are people who are saying that they didn't argue his case correctly," she said. "But others realize that if Snipes can't do it with a team lawyers, how can they?"

In his statement to the court, Snipes apologized for his "mistakes" but steered clear of acknowledging intentional wrongdoing, according to observers.

"[Snipes] said he was sorry for his actions but he never used the word 'crimes' and he never used the word 'tax,'" said Hochman, who was present when U.S. District Judge William Terrell Hodges announced the sentence in Ocala, Fla. "I think it's an indication that Mr. Snipes, to this day, has not fully accepted responsibility for his actions."

In addition to the jail time, Snipes, 45, is being charged millions by the IRS for back taxes, penalties and interest. Defense attorney Linda Moreno declined to comment about her client's sentence, but said that a notice of appeal will be filed within the next few days.

Prosecutor O'Neill said he's confident the ruling will stand.

"In my opinion that was an error-free trial," he said. "In order to succeed in an appeal, you have to point to something that occurred in the trial that denied the individual due process of law. I don't see that happening."

(bolding added)

from

http://money.cnn.com/2008/04/25/smbusin ... /index.htm

......and the beat goes on.......

[Famspear]

And an excerpt from Reuters:

Wesley Snipes jailed for 3 years in tax case

By Barbara Liston
[Friday, April 25, 2008]

OCALA, Fla. (Reuters) - A "very sorry" Wesley Snipes, star of the "Blade" movies, was sentenced to three years in prison on Thursday for willfully failing to file U.S. income tax returns for 1999 through 2001.

Snipes was convicted in February on three misdemeanor counts. U.S. District Judge William Terrell Hodges handed down the maximum sentence and said he felt it was important to create a general deterrent against tax defiance.

[ . . . ]

The judge said prison officials would notify Snipes when to begin serving his sentence. Snipes said he would appeal the verdict but prosecutors vowed to oppose any request to allow him to remain free on bond while the appeal is pending.

Prosecutors said Snipes had earned more than $38 million since 1999 but still had not filed tax returns for the years 1999 through 2007 or paid any taxes prior to Thursday.

[ . . . ]

They [the prosecutors] said the notoriety of the case presented a "singular opportunity" to deter tax crimes nationwide.

Snipes was acquitted on two felony charges of filing false claims and fraud in seeking millions of dollars of refunds in other tax years.

The judge did not fine him but the IRS still could levy penalties and interest charges in addition to the taxes owed.

Snipes brought character references from actors Denzel Washington and Woody Harrelson. His lawyer, Linda Moreno, said Snipes had led "an otherwise exemplary life" and had hired reputable tax professionals to help him resolve his tax liability and make amends.

She said Snipes owed less than $400,000 in taxes for the three years related to the convictions and should not be jailed.

Moreno cited the cases of former Washington mayor Marion Barry and singer/actor Marc Anthony, who avoided prison after failing to file tax returns, and singer Willie Nelson, who remained free despite owing $17 million in back taxes.

Co-defendant Eddie Ray Kahn, a longtime tax protester who coached clients of his American Rights Litigators on how to beat the tax system, was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Co-Defendant Douglas Rosile, who prosecutors called a "defrocked certified public accountant," was sentenced to 4-1/2 years for his part in the scheme. Both were convicted of conspiracy and tax fraud.

Prosecutors said Kahn and Rosile were "incorrigible tax offenders" whose anti-tax schemes caused "enormous damage to the administration of our tax system." They said at least nine other Kahn customers had been convicted of criminal tax violations and two had been indicted.

(bolding added)

from:

http://in.movies.yahoo.com/news-detail/ ... -case.html

Need to double check one of the statements in the story above - I thought I saw another news report that said that Snipes actually WAS fined as part of his sentence (????).

[webhick]

And the tardesphere will blame her collapse on the prosecution, when it really is another result of Snipes's actions.

You know, every time you say "tardesphere", I keep thinking of a blue police box with a bunch of butt-picking, booger-eating tax protesters trapped in its orbit.

[Famspear]

OK, I checked; the clerk's minutes have been posted to the docket on PACER. As to Snipes, Kahn, and Rosile, the Court waived fines and cost of imprisonment on all three.

Just "special assessments": $75 as to Snipes; $200 as to Kahn; and $200 as to Rosile.....

A tax protester victory......

[Dr. Caligari]

As a defense lawyer, I have always argued that fines are inappropriate in criminal tax cases because the IRS is going to impose civil penalties anyway.

[grixit]

And the tardesphere will blame her collapse on the prosecution, when it really is another result of Snipes's actions.

You know, every time you say "tardesphere", I keep thinking of a blue police box with a bunch of butt-picking, booger-eating tax protesters trapped in its orbit.

I was very careful to make the second vowel an e not an i. Anyway, in the circles that tps travel in, the insides are usually much much smaller than the outsides.

[LPC]

Prosecutor O'Neill said he's confident the ruling will stand.

"In my opinion that was an error-free trial," he said. "In order to succeed in an appeal, you have to point to something that occurred in the trial that denied the individual due process of law.

Or you can point to a lack of evidence. Or mistakes of law in rulings by the judge.

Contrary to what tax protesters (and at least one federal prosecutor) seem to believe, not every appeal is about "due process."

[Demosthenes]

[The white cat adjusted her moldy melon helmet and stepped gingerly back out into the Quatloosian waters.]

An interesting article on the Snipes sentence written by a film critic:

http://www.filmstew.com/showBlog.aspx?blog_id=1360

I’m not buying it for one second, this idea that – to quote your prepared statement delivered Thursday in response to being sentenced to three years in a Florida jail for 1999-2004 income tax evasion – that you are “an idealistic, naive, passionate, truth seeking, spiritually motivated artist, and unschooled in the science of law and finance."

You’re actually a guy who grew up in the South Bronx, someone who saw fit to publicly call out Shaft director John Singleton for casting Samuel L. Jackson rather than you in the lead role of the 2000 action remake. You’re also someone who chose to listen with regards to tax matters to an accountant stripped of his license in 1997 (Douglas Rosile) and another guy who has already served time in prison for tax evasion (Eddie Kahn).