Snipes' new filings

[Demosthenes]

06/04/2007 143 MOTION for Kerry Brainard Verdi to appear pro hac vice by Wesley Trent Snipes. (Martin, William) Motions referred to Magistrate Judge Gary R. Jones. (Entered: 06/04/2007)

06/04/2007 144 MOTION to change venue by Wesley Trent Snipes. (Martin, William) (Entered: 06/04/2007)
06/04/2007 145 MOTION to dismiss by Wesley Trent Snipes. (Martin, William) Modified on 6/6/2007 (AIQ. (Entered: 06/04/2007)

06/04/2007 146 MOTION to produce Brady and Giglio Material by Wesley Trent Snipes. (Martin, William) Motions referred to Magistrate Judge Gary R. Jones. (Entered: 06/04/2007)

06/04/2007 147 MOTION for bill of particulars by Wesley Trent Snipes. (Martin, William) Motions referred to Magistrate Judge Gary R. Jones. (Entered: 06/04/2007)

06/04/2007 148 MOTION to sever defendant and Continue the Trial Date by Wesley Trent Snipes. (Martin, William) Modified on 6/6/2007 (AIQ). (Entered: 06/04/2007)

06/04/2007 149 MOTION to Exclude Purported Expert Testimony of William C. Kerr by Wesley Trent Snipes. (Martin, William) Modified on 6/6/2007 (AIQ). (Entered: 06/04/2007)

06/06/2007 152 Emergency MOTION to withdraw document by Wesley Trent Snipes. (Attachments: # 1 Text of Proposed Order)(Martin, William) (Entered: 06/06/2007)

06/06/2007 153 ORDER granting 152 Defendant Wesley Trent Snipes' Unopposed Emergency Motion to Withdraw Exhibits. Signed by Judge Gary R. Jones on 6/6/2007. (grj) (Entered: 06/06/2007)

06/06/2007 154 ORDER granting 143 Motion For Admission Pro Hac Vice as to Wesley Trent Snipes (1). Kerry Brainard Verdi is admitted pro hac vice to represent the Defendant in this case. Signed by Judge Gary R. Jones on 6/6/2007. (grj) (Entered: 06/06/2007)

06/07/2007 155 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE by Wesley Trent Snipes re 143 MOTION for Kerry Brainard Verdi to appear pro hac vice, 149 MOTION to Exclude Purported Expert Testimony of William C. Kerr, 146 MOTION to produce Brady and Giglio Material, 148 MOTION to sever defendant and Continue the Trial Date, 145 MOTION to dismiss, 152 Emergency MOTION to withdraw document, 147 MOTION for bill of particulars, 144 MOTION to change venue (Martin, William) (Entered: 06/07/2007)

[Bud Dickman]

Wesley Snipes Plays Race Card
Actor claims "selective prosecution" in felony tax avoidance case
JUNE 8--Facing trial in a bizarre tax avoidance scheme, actor Wesley Snipes claims that prosecutors used race as a factor in deciding to charge him with failure to file six years worth of IRS returns. In a motion to dismiss an eight-count indictment filed last October, Snipes argues that he is the victim of selective prosecution. Snipes points to the fact that his two "Caucasian" codefendants, Douglas Rosile and Eddie Kahn, have not been charged with failure to file tax returns, though investigators are aware that Kahn did not file returns for six years and that it was "possible" Rosile did not file for two years. Snipes, who was hit with six felonies for failing to file between 1999-2004, contends that the half-dozen counts were "impermissibly brought on the basis of Mr. Snipes' race" and should be "dismissed based on selective prosecution." Snipes, Rosile, and Kahn have been accused of attempting to defraud the government by claiming that the actor was immune to taxation based on the "861 argument." That claim, which has long been rejected by IRS officials, referd to a section of the federal tax code. Along with playing the race card, the Snipes motion, an excerpt of which you'll find below, claims that the celebrity was actually a victim of "unscrupulous tax advice," not a willing participant in a criminal conspiracy hatched by Rosile and Kahn. As such, a second motion notes, Snipes is mulling a lawsuit against his two codefendants "to recover the losses he suffered as a result of his reliance upon the advice given to him." (5 pages)

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/ye ... ipes1.html

[Demosthenes]

http://www.cheatingfrenzy.com/snipes145.pdf

Here’s what the lawyers argue:

Count 1 (Conspiracy) should be thrown out because Eddie Kahn and Snipes couldn’t have conspired seeing as they had an adviser/client relationship which makes Snipes a victim, not a conspirator. At one point the defense lawyers even refer to it as an “attorney client” relationship between Kahn, Rosile, and Snipes, and seeing that none of the defendants are attorneys, that looks like a big whopper to me.

From the motion to dismiss:

In fact, the Indictment refers to an email sent to Mr. Snipes from Defendant Kahn as evidence of an overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy. (¶ 31.) Yet, that very email establishes that the attorney/client relationship between Mr. Snipes and the other defendants is far from a conspiratorial one, but rather that of a client. (See April 6, 2001 email, attached hereto as Ex. 2.) In that email, Defendant Kahn, as Mr. Snipes legal tax advisor, advises Mr. Snipes that until he receives a determination of his status as a tax payer, he does not have to pay any taxes.

Count 2 (false claims) should be thrown out because Snipes amended the the jurat, therefore the amended tax return wasn’t valid, and there was no false claim.

From the motion to dismiss:

The Form 1040X relied upon by the government as a basis for the false claim count against Mr. Snipes contains a completely altered jurat that specifically states that the form is signed “under no penalties of perjury.” (See 1040X, attached hereto as Ex. 3., emphasis added) Thus, as a matter of law, the amended tax return is not recognized by either the IRS or the courts as constituting a valid claim.

Counts 3 through 8 (willful failure to file) should be thrown out because Kahn and Rosile weren’t hit with the same charges, and they aren’t black like Wesley.

From the motion to dismiss:

Mr. Snipes has been charged in the same Indictment as Defendants Rosile and Kahn, yet he is the only one of the three charged with failure to file. Both Defendants Rosile and Kahn are Caucasian, while Mr. Snipes is African-American.

[Demosthenes]

And then there's this tidbit from defense counsel:

Counts 3-7 charge Mr. Snipes with failure to file an income tax return for tax years 1999-2003. The Internal Revenue Code requires that any person liable for tax shall make a return or statement according to the forms and regulations prescribed by the Secretary. 26 U.S.C. § 6011. In May 2004, Mr. Snipes filed an individual Filing Statement in Affidavit Form for each tax year from 1999-2003.2 (See, e.g., Filing Statement for Tax Year 1999 in Affidavit Form, attached hereto as Ex. 4.) Based on tax advice received from Defendants Kahn and Rosile, these Filing Statements were prepared, signed and notarized, and explain why Mr. Snipes believed that his taxable liability in the years in question was zero. Further, the affidavit explains why the return is filed in lieu of the IRS Form 1040, and explains why Mr. Snipes believed that this Filing Statement fulfilled the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code and the regulations promulgated thereunder. Such Filing Statement is consistent with Mr. Snipes IRS Master File, which he obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, and includes a MFR-01 notation. (See IMF MCC Transcript, attached hereto as Ex. 5.) An MFR-01 notation refers to the mail filing requirement, and the “01” code means that a “1040 is not required.” See IRS Manual § 2.3.51. As the manual itself does not define these terms, it must be assumed that these terms literally mean what they say.

Oh dear.

[Quixote]

And then there's this tidbit from defense counsel:

Counts 3-7 charge Mr. Snipes with failure to file an income tax return for tax years 1999-2003. The Internal Revenue Code requires that any person liable for tax shall make a return or statement according to the forms and regulations prescribed by the Secretary. 26 U.S.C. § 6011. In May 2004, Mr. Snipes filed an individual Filing Statement in Affidavit Form for each tax year from 1999-2003.2 (See, e.g., Filing Statement for Tax Year 1999 in Affidavit Form, attached hereto as Ex. 4.) Based on tax advice received from Defendants Kahn and Rosile, these Filing Statements were prepared, signed and notarized, and explain why Mr. Snipes believed that his taxable liability in the years in question was zero. Further, the affidavit explains why the return is filed in lieu of the IRS Form 1040, and explains why Mr. Snipes believed that this Filing Statement fulfilled the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code and the regulations promulgated thereunder. Such Filing Statement is consistent with Mr. Snipes IRS Master File, which he obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, and includes a MFR-01 notation. (See IMF MCC Transcript, attached hereto as Ex. 5.) An MFR-01 notation refers to the mail filing requirement, and the “01” code means that a “1040 is not required.” See IRS Manual § 2.3.51. As the manual itself does not define these terms, it must be assumed that these terms literally mean what they say.

Oh dear.

I thought Snipes was being represented by real lawyers. My mistake.

[Nikki]

As an enterntainment lawyer, he seems to feel it is his job to provide entertainment.

Perhaps someone should let him know that, if he values his license to practice, he should review tax law precedent before making frivolous arguments.

[The Observer]

What? They didn't bring up the codes that showed where the IRS converted Snipes into a Virgin Islands gunsmith?

[ASITStands]

What? They didn't bring up the codes that showed where the IRS converted Snipes into a Virgin Islands gunsmith?

That's in the second motion to dismiss after the court denies the first.

[wvfoos]

Wesley made Page Six.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/06092007/go ... gesix_.htm

June 9, 2007 -- WESLEY Snipes is swiping at federal prosecutors, claiming race was a factor in his being charged with failing to file six years' worth of tax returns. Thesmokinggun.com reports that, in a motion to dismiss the eight-count indictment filed last year, the "Blade" star argues he's the victim of selective prosecution, pointing out that his two "Caucasian" co-defendants, Douglas Rosile and Eddie Kahn, haven't been charged with the same crime, even though probers are aware Kahn did not file returns for six years and it was "possible" Rosile did not file for two years.

[webhick]

Poor Wesley. Doesn't even realize that the reason the feds are picking on him has nothing to do with the color of his skin...but probably because they wasted two hours watching Blade 1 and now feel as though he must pay for boring them to death.