Snipes Sentenced to Slammer

by Tippi Blevins April 25, 2008 10:59 AM

For most of us, tax season is like a nightmare we finally woke up from and don't have to worry about for another eleven months. For Wesley Snipes, however, the nightmare is just beginning: The actor has now been handed a three-year prison sentence for tax evasion. Prosecutors argued for the harshest possible punishment under the law as a way to set an "example." What, because high profile tax crime cases are really making people think twice about not paying up? If that were the case, Snipes would have remembered Willie Nelson losing his property and his profits for a while in the 1990s and not gotten himself into this mess in the first place. Nelson himself would have remembered what happened to the infamous Al Capone and cut a check for Uncle Sam long before his troubles ever started.

According to an article in The Guardian, Snipes says he "owed $228,000" while he owes closer to three million. Another article cites US Attorney Scotland Morris as saying Snipes currently owes more than 20 million dollars. Even if the Snipes figure were the correct one, it wouldn't have mattered much. I know someone who once got a stern letter from the IRS after underpaying her taxes by sixteen bucks and change. If they'll go after you for owing the cost of a burger and appetizers at Bennigan's, they'll go after you for $228,000. They'll sure as hell go knocking on your door for a few million.

Look, there probably isn't a person in this country who opens his or her paycheck and says, "The government took a load of my money! Yay!" At least not without a healthy measure of sarcasm. But nobody gets away with not paying for long. You may curse and fume so much your friends and pets don't want to be around you until April 16, you may threaten to join a monastery and live without money, but eventually write the check and go on your way. That should be true whether you're John Smith in Topeka or Wesley Snipes in L.A.

Given the range of characters he's played over the years, at least he'll have a lot of cool prison nicknames to choose from. I'd recommend Phoenix, given the setting. No word yet on what Snipes's sentence means for his possible role in Brooklyn's Finest, which is currently in pre-production.

Comments

SHARE THE SNARK

X

Get the most of your experience.
Share the Snark!

See content relevant to you based on what your friends are reading and watching.

Share your activity with your friends to Facebook's News Feed, Timeline and Ticker.

Stay in Control: Delete any item from your activity that you choose not to share.

BLOG ARCHIVES

The Moviefile

February 2013

11 Entries

January 2013

16 Entries

December 2012

21 Entries

November 2012

19 Entries

October 2012

20 Entries

September 2012

19 Entries

August 2012

19 Entries

July 2012

17 Entries

June 2012

24 Entries

May 2012

21 Entries

April 2012

22 Entries

March 2012

26 Entries

February 2012

24 Entries

January 2012

25 Entries

December 2011

27 Entries

November 2011

22 Entries

October 2011

22 Entries

September 2011

29 Entries

August 2011

27 Entries

July 2011

30 Entries

June 2011

25 Entries

May 2011

13 Entries

April 2011

23 Entries

March 2011

22 Entries

February 2011

33 Entries

January 2011

39 Entries

December 2010

21 Entries

November 2010

29 Entries

October 2010

23 Entries

September 2010

25 Entries

August 2010

26 Entries

July 2010

29 Entries

June 2010

36 Entries

May 2010

22 Entries

April 2010

26 Entries

March 2010

30 Entries

February 2010

19 Entries

January 2010

19 Entries

December 2009

15 Entries

November 2009

21 Entries

October 2009

27 Entries

September 2009

30 Entries

August 2009

28 Entries

July 2009

34 Entries

June 2009

27 Entries

May 2009

24 Entries

April 2009

23 Entries

March 2009

18 Entries

February 2009

30 Entries

January 2009

56 Entries

December 2008

51 Entries

November 2008

61 Entries

October 2008

102 Entries

September 2008

86 Entries

August 2008

99 Entries

July 2008

116 Entries

June 2008

95 Entries

May 2008

86 Entries

April 2008

67 Entries

March 2008

14 Entries

Blog Categories

Accidents Do Happen

46 Entries

Alien Nations

3 Entries

Awards Schmawards

17 Entries

Box Office Tally

79 Entries

Burning Questions

4 Entries

Coming Soonish

9 Entries

Cool Nerds Guide

6 Entries

Cop Rick

4 Entries

Crazy In Love

2 Entries

Doc Watch

1 Entries

DVDs Unwrapped

24 Entries

Foreign Relations

49 Entries

Future Tense

1 Entries

Getting Dramatic

3 Entries

Girls on Film

75 Entries

Happy Anniversary

9 Entries

Hi, High School

1 Entries

I Voted for GORE!

101 Entries

I Want My DVD

221 Entries

I Want My VOD

20 Entries

IMDb Fun Times

6 Entries

Indie Snapshot

41 Entries

It's a Major Award!

75 Entries

Legal Eaglese

21 Entries

Martial Artistry

11 Entries

Momentous Occasions

25 Entries

More On Movies

37 Entries

Movie Merchandise

4 Entries

Musicalifornication

47 Entries

Name That Tune

2 Entries

On the Frontlines

1 Entries

Politicking

3 Entries

Read All About It

4 Entries

Remakes R Us

7 Entries

Sci-Fidelity

147 Entries

Separate but Sequel

246 Entries

Sequelitis

19 Entries

Sing Out, Louise

3 Entries

Strike Watch

14 Entries

Tears in Heaven

1 Entries

The Biz

122 Entries

The Casting Conch

192 Entries

The Kongs of Comedy

199 Entries

Things to Know

1 Entries

Things We Learned

1 Entries

Time Tripping

1 Entries

Top of the

1 Entries

Top of the MWoP

5 Entries

Trailer Trashing

72 Entries

We Call Do-Over

177 Entries

YA Wasteland

3 Entries

You Know, For Kids!

132 Entries

The Latest Activity On TwOP