The ultimate point is the grand buck should have stopped with the accountant.

Oh and also The indictment said Snipes used accountants who already had a history of filing false returns to obtain refund payments for their clients.

That could mean that they scammed him and now hes paying for it which wouldn't be his fault at all, hey scott I'll tell you how I could illegally send you to jail, all I need to do is send you a fraud check for your ebay item and you try to cash it and there you go straight to jail.

Or if im an accountant with a history of fraud, then should this accountant be responsible to wesley snipes I wonder how snipes lawyer could have missed this is bothers me deeply.

Scott, and these other people are blind sheeple and not to mention asshole for calling someone out on there opinions, oh and check this out

The judge cited the fear of prison riots due to the fact that Snipes is a confirmed vampire, detailed in exhibits A-B which were the two films in the Blade trilogy that Snipes starred in. There is no word on how this creature of the night spent the $ 7.4 million he withheld from the IRS in income tax, though it is reported that he was upset about not being cast opposite Brad Pitt in Interview With A Vampire.

Yeah this judge was a real fucking genius right, sounds very unprofessional to me, fuck you and you what goes up must go down analogies of you break the law your life is over and some echoing in such beautiful righteous that makes crusaders of the past look like cowards compared to anonymous key board warriors come on please at least say something productive like how my punctuation is the equivilent of you mouth flatulence.

Has ANYONE ever seen the tax law with your own eyes, or do you just imagine that it is there because they say it exist and you pay it.

http://www.youtube.com/v/3ueEfRXZCVA&hl;=en&fs;=1

http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=-3254488777215293198&hl;

FREE WESLEY SNIPES!

http://www.zazzle.com/freewesley/

T-SHIRTS BUTTONS STICKERS

In response to Kyrtonite's comment about punishing people for committing crimes where they could, they 'COULD' have killed somebody. You here that lousy argument all the time from cretins. "You could have killed somebody! We are gonna punish you severly for what you could have done! Not what you actually did, but what you could have done" These morons who make these arguments have their heads right in the up and locked position.

That same kind of logic could apply to someone who purchases a firearm. "We are going to sentence you to prison because you could have killed someone when you walked out of that store with that gun! As a matter of fact we're gonna sentence you to life without parole because, heck, you could have taken that gun and went to a school and killed a whole lot of innocent people!"

The only thing you can do with people who think like this is to do what the Nazi's did with their problem. The Nazi's did get a few things right. Their 88 mm gun and mg series machine guns for instance (You may have seen a clip of a guy kneeling over a pit with his overcoat in his hand and a SS trooper standing next to him.) Some people just not only don't get it, but they just never will. They will persist to try and ruin the society in which they live.

How docile we are. We let the government just take a portion of our income like a gangster skimming off the profits. How low we have sunk as a people.

Everyone knows The Sniper is not going to prison. But if he does, you have to ask yourself how this punishment benefits the goverment. Will it actually deter future tax evaders? And besides, would it not be more beneficial to have The Sniper free and making money so he could, concieveably, pay more taxes?

The forceful collection of taxes is unconstitutional. Its sheep like the idiot above that have no idea of what being a real American is about. Free Snipes and jail the hairball Judge and DA that put him away! ; {>

Some people here have pointed out the insanely light sentences given to other celebrities over much worse offenses, and followed that up with "FREE WESLEY SNIPES!!!!"

Are you retarded? And no, that was not a rhetorical question. I am genuinely concerned: are you actually, medically, mentally retarded?

Your battle cry should not be for Wesley's release. Instead, you should be shouting to the rooftops for certain celebrities (Mel Gibson, Paris Hilton, etc., etc.) to be rounded up and given much tougher sentences appropriate to THEIR crimes which actually put lives in jeopardy, like drunk driving. Most of you crackpots calling for Snipes' release are the same self-important douchebags who complained when other celebrities were let off after doing only months, weeks, days or even just HOURS for committing a crime that could have killed someone. Now that a celebrity has been convicted a crime that took YEARS to commit, and has been sentenced accordingly, you have the sheer audacity to demand his release.

That question I asked, about whether or not you were retarded?

Never mind, I have my answer.

Why am I paying money to make Wesley Snipes feel sorry? Just take the money he owes, plus enough extra so that it's no longer cost-effective to skip paying taxes. Sure, the cost of supporting him in prison for three years is a drop in the bucket compared to his debt to the government, but the crime itself was about taking the government's money. If the first thing that government does is spend it ON HIM, what was the point of asking any of it back? The just punishment is taking the money back, plus enough interest to deter repeat offense. I don't know when Western civilization started thinking prison alone was supposed to be a punishment. What does society really gain from feeding, sheltering and clothing the worst of its own people? Unless prison magically cures people of being criminals, it doesn't work. The vast majority of people sent to prison are released. Some prison contractor just stole several hundred thousand dollars of taxpayer money, and the criminal is still there, just a better criminal now for being around so many others. How is THAT the most cost-effective, rehabilitative form of punishment available?

Dean... No, I dont think the fact that Snipes is black had ANY influence on his sentence. To think that is to assume and accept as a fact that theres some sort of conspiracy to "keep black people in their place" and to make sure "they dont get out of line" so we have to "make an example of one of their own" and thats just ridiculous.

Racism is real, it unfortunately still exists, but to attach it to every single instance of a black person having something go against them hurts those who are the true victims of racism.

Snipes is a criminal, regardless of the color of his skin, but to look at him as a "black celebrity" who was treated harshly is just as bad as looking at him as a "black celebrity" who needs to me dealt with as an example.

He commited a crime, not because he was black, but because he chose to. He was given a sentence, not because he was black, but because thats the law. Its that simple.

And yes, I can compare Capone to Snipes because whatever either did in addition to tax evasion is irrelevant, the crime they were convicted of, and sent to prison for, is the same.

And to think you already have so low taxes in the U.S...

In Sweden we pay like 50%. Oh..but then, in our country, you get healthcare regardless of your income.

DBW, do you not think it had the slightest effect though? I think after MJ and OJ Simpson, there was no way another black celebrity was going to get off so lightly. Al capone was a gangster an a murderer, where as Snipes, ho does appear like a dick, is just an actor. You cannot compare the two at all. Compare him to another white actor of the time and see if they got put in jail for tax evasion.

While I understand that "tax evasion" was just the reason to finally get him into prison, Al Capone was sentenced to 11 years in federal prison and 1 year in county jail for failing to pay his taxes over a five year period.

So Snipes should consider himself lucky that hes only getting 3 years for a bigger "tax evasion" offence.

And to "Chris (the real one)" please dont start with the race stuff. The color of someones skin doesnt need to be an issue every time a black person has something go against them. Doing so does a disservice to anyone who was legitimately on the receiving end of racism.

Besides, Capone got a sentence that was four times as long for a lesser version of the same crime - and last time I checked, Al was a white guy.

He owes over $17M. He was a lying, cheating crook who broke the law for over a decade. His arrogance alone deserves to be punished. He got what he deserved. I have no sympathy.

my only thing is with all these other stars committing worst crimes (drunk driving, drug use and possession, parole violations, etc). crimes that can potentially harm themselves and those around them, however all they get are wrist slaps. but blade doesnt play taxes 3 years.

now i understand the man did ALOT to avoid paying, he needs to be punished. but in comparison it looks really, really bad for the system. i think its fucked up. FREE WESLEY SNIPES!!!!!!!

@ scott and others like him.

you all sound so angry, almost like he has done something to you personally. I don't think most most people disagree with the fact he should be punished or handed jail time, but seriously, do you really think 3 years in a maximum security prison is justice for his crime? Other celebs get caught drink driving, or under the influence (britney, paris, lohan et al) and come away with practically a slap on the wrist when they were, in effect, killing machines.

I think it's a shame when a country places a greater emphasis on it's currency, then the lives of it's citizens which is basically what it has said. drink/drug and and drive, no problem. steal from the government, no way!

So he went through a few hoops to screw the IRS, so what? Celebs get slaps on the wrists for drunk driving, an act which clearly puts the lives of innocent bystanders at risk all the time. His attempt to cheat on his taxes aren't going to get anyone killed or maimed for life, but he got ten times the jail time. As for getting out early, this is federal prison, not state. Fed prison time is every day you get, is a day you serve, no time out for early behavior. SOooo, apparently you can rob someone's home or kill your ex wife and her boyfriend, or drive drunk every night, or shoplift while on camera, and that's all cool, but screw over the IRS (who thrives on screwing us over every chance it gets) and it's 3 years in prison for you.

Free Simon Phoenix, oh wait that sounds wrong

Am I the only one that agrees with his sentencing? I might not necessarily agree with 3 years, but anyone that tries to break the law must understand that if your caught there are consequences. This is not a new law that was made up and so he should have known better. There is nothing wrong with the prosecution seeking the maximum sentence. That is there job. Its the defenses job to look for the minimum for there client. So, although some might say the sentence is a bit stiff, it was with in the realm of possibility for not filing your taxes and Wesley should have known that.

For those of you guys saying, "he broke the law yada yada yada". Good. At least SOMEBODY tried avoiding having to give away their hard earned money to a government that repeatedly wastes it. Good for him.

The ignorance in this thread is astounding. Wesley Snipes deserved that sentence. Even if you only sat around the Movie Blog all day for the last year, you should still be aware of the measures he went through to avoid paying his taxes.

He deserved to go to jail for 3 years. There were laws with clearly defined punishments. He broke them repeatedly and tried to cover it up. Send him to jail.

And Kanthan, try not to spout off about a country you clearly don't know much about. I'm sure if you named what country you're in, I could come up with plenty of things that prove it has "a fucked up system" (your words, not mine).

Seems to me that we have to just pay what ever the Government wants...NO TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION...... I say we need to teach the U.S. a lesson and start another revolution.

FREE WESLEY SNIPES!!!!!!

OR FEAR OUR RATH

Here in Quebec, Canada, 3 years is often what you get when you kill someone...

If you fuck with the governments "money" they open up a can of whoopass bought at Costco's. If you fuck with someone else´s money they don't care.

But I would think that he would go to a white collar prison rather than to stay with hardened criminals. But Florida has a history of over reacting when it comes to petty crimes.

I'm kind of glad that this happened to him because according to many the guy is the biggest duche on the planet.

I wonder if he'll meet this guy in prison.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=077UtUWGQOA

Fucking America, What a fucked up system, typical from a country that doesnt even have a socialised health care and tries to make money out its own people (sorry could contain myself)

I think the issue here is not his guilt or lack thereof. It is pretty obvious that he infringed repeatedly and blatantly and does deserve to be punished.

What is the issue is comparatively light sentences for other crimes as several posters point out above. When you have punishments doled out inconsistently people begin to lose faith in the judicial system.

Besides, at least this will give Snipes material for a new straight-to-DVD film - actually by the time he is out it will probably be straight to Blu-ray...

thats fucked up....i would say some stuff about being black...but im drunk

Wow good point James.

I'm sure this is going to get reduced due to his lack of priors. We shall see.

Some of you guys act like Snipes just forgot to put the correct postage on his return for one year. Snipes has a history of trying to screw the government over and avoid paying taxes and hoarding money. I'm surprised it took this long to nail him, quite honestly.

If there's one entity in life that you do NOT want to try and show up, it's the feds.

Wow! Don't you think they are going a little overboard sentencing him to a SUPERMAX prison? Come on...this guy is an ACTOR:

http://www.socoolaz.com/article.cfm?articleID=30209

Snipes got screwed. Let him go.

I've said this before.....I'm fucking glad I don't have to pay taxes where I'm from

Wesley really kinda f-ed himself. If he is guilty he should have done a better job of it and had a dual citizenship. It would have given him at least a better excuse and possibly a chance of just getting a fine

I do feel bummed for the guy.

Personally there's a lot of stuff that's covered up about how legal it is that feds collect income tax from citizens.

Yeah, Free Snipes!

Lets have a love-in and sing Coom by ya! around the camp fire.

And don't hog the weed...man.

Have any of actually read the lengths this idiot went to to avoid paying taxes?

Try getting your information from something other than a movie blog.....it might be an eye opening experience for some of y'all.

Free Snipes.

Y'know, on the one hand it's nice to see a celebrity held accountable for once. On the other hand; three years for not doing paper work right!? Fuck you, law.

Should he serve some time for failing to file his tax returns, which he was found guilty of? Yes. But this sentencing is egregious and flat out bullshit. His time served should be in accordance to the crime committed. NOT because of his fame. Snipes gets three years for this while Martha Stewart was doing arts and crafts for insider trading.

he'll be out before 3yrs and he should go to prison he broke the fuckin law

Him spending a single day in prison is one day too many.

He'll get out after a year served for good behavior.

This is essentially them making an example of someone by giving them the maximum penalty based solely on their occupation and celebrity status. That is fucking ridiculous. Free Wesley Snipes!

Um, there are laws... There are penalties for breaking those laws... If you break those laws you are subject to the penalties that apply to breaking those laws... Sounds fair to me...

Slushie....sorry...you may be stupid enough to take someone from the internet's word for what has happened....but I like to see proof in the form of a news article from a reputable source.

Until you can provide that (instead of some story about your cousin's uncles's best friend's buddy from kindergarten) then you can, in your well written and thought out words "kindly fuck off".

Damn......and i just heard Blade 4 was going into development.......guess we better holla Sticky Jones.......LOL

Another one for the republicans, and it chaps my ass.

Oh now I understand, Nixon put Judge Hodges on the bench in 1971. I will be nice and not open this can of worms.

Not to mention that my ex roommate, her ex-boyfriend used to beat her senseless every day and tried to kill her. She pressed charges and he didn't get anything more then a slap on the wrist. No jail time, no community service, no charges, nothing, and this is with a long record of previous offenses.