Willfulness
Was Snipes really just asking the IRS innocent questions?
Tuesday, February 12th, 2008Or does he just have a problem paying taxes?
Last week, a New Jersey newspaper reported that Snipes’ outstanding tax liens on his Alpine, NJ home in the amount of $67,108 had been sold at auction in December. If he doesn’t pay this amount off in the next two years, the new owner of the lien can foreclose [...]
Snipes’ December 2006 letter to the government
Thursday, January 31st, 2008Months after he was criminally indicted, Snipes sent a lengthy, and at times nasty, letter to the IRS and the federal prosecutor assigned to his case.
The entire letter – minus the 600 pages of attachments, of course – can be read here.
Sad, and ugly stuff.
The jury has now ended two full days of deliberation, and [...]
It’s all up to the jury now
Wednesday, January 30th, 2008What a day we had on Tuesday.
Court convened at 9:30 AM to give locals a little extra time to hit the polls, and the judge addressed a last minute kooky filing submitted by Eddie Kahn. The nonsense motion was , of course, denied and closing arguments began.
The prosecution team went first, and they nailed their closing [...]
What exactly is a conspiracy?
Sunday, January 27th, 2008Snipes, Kahn, and Rosile were all indicted on one count of conspiring to defraud the US Government.
From in or about 1999 through the date of this indictment, in Lake and Orange Counties, in the Middle District of Florida, and elsewhere,
WESLEY TRENT SNIPES,
EDDIE RAY KAHN,
and
DOUGLAS P. ROSILE,
The defendants herein, did knowingly, willfully, and unlawfully combine, conspire, [...]
Day 8: January 24 – You have the right to remain silent. Use it.
Thursday, January 24th, 2008Threatening prosecutors is a really bad idea.
Ranting and raving (and admitting to at least one felony count) in writing to a federal prosecutor while threatening the US government is just not cool, especially after you’ve already been indicted and are awaiting your criminal trial.
At least Thursday morning wasn’t boring in the courtroom.
But first…
Government Witness: Michael [...]
Day 7: January 23: “Dear Mr. Kahn…”
Thursday, January 24th, 2008The prosecution continued questioning Special Agent Lalli for half of the day and the poor Jury was subjected to IRS form letters, Powers of Attorney forms, billing statements showing Snipes paying Kahn for his services, and hundreds of pages of incomprehensible tax protester forms and documents.
One interesting document showed 232 Kahn clients trying to obtain [...]
Recap of the first week in the Wesley Snipes case
Tuesday, January 22nd, 2008Days 1 and 2: Jury selection
During a deadly dull two day process, the judge and attorneys narrowed down an all white jury pool to a jury of seven women, five men, and four alternates, all women. The average juror is roughly 50+ years old and many are retired. Most are not Florida natives. Most, if [...]
Snipes’ Defense: He trusted bad advisors
Sunday, January 20th, 2008Throughout the trial so far, the defense counsel in the Snipes criminal trial have stressed repeatedly both in the courtroom and in the press that Snipes is the victim of unscrupulous advisors. Who were these advisors and will the jury find that Snipes’ continued faith in them is believable?
Everybody makes mistakes in their lives; we [...]
Opening Statements and the first few witnesses
Wednesday, January 16th, 2008Today’s opening statements offered few surprises.
US Prosecutor Robert E. O’Neill walked the jury through the timeline of events and Snipes’ income statements and asked the jury to rely on their common sense. The presentation was short and to the point.
Snipes’ lawyers outlined a four part defense:
They claim Snipes didn’t live in Florida between the years [...]
What is Snipes’ defense?
Monday, January 14th, 2008The clues provided by Snipes’ defense counsel have been consistent:
“He did what every other American is entitled to,” Bernhoft said. “He asked the IRS for information. Asking questions is not a crime, even if the IRS would like it to be.”
and
The 45-year-old action star, who faces a trial Monday on tax fraud and conspiracy charges, [...]
Not your typical celebrity tax trial
Tuesday, January 8th, 2008Nobody likes to pay taxes.
Just about everyone complains, several people cheat, a tiny minority even practices civil disobedience by simply refusing to pay, willing to risk prison rather than having their money fund things like the war in Iraq.
One rapidly expanding group goes a whole lot further – they deny that taxes exist at all. [...]