Court Asked to Uphold Hatch Rap

Herald wire services - 1.06.07


Prosecutors urged a federal appeals court today to uphold the tax evasion conviction of “Survivor” winner Richard Hatch, saying he had an opportunity to testify about why he thought the show’s producers would pay his taxes, but never took it.

Hatch was convicted last year of failing to pay taxes on the $1 million prize he won on the debut season of the CBS reality series. He was sentenced to more than four years in prison.

Hatch’s lawyer says his client caught producers cheating by smuggling food to other contestants during taping of the show, and that they promised to pay his taxes if he won the competition.

A CBS spokesman has said Hatch’s claims have no merit.

Defense lawyer Michael Minns raised the cheating allegations with U.S. District Judge Ernest Torres during a break in testimony and outside the jury’s presence. But he never asked Hatch about it when Hatch was on the witness stand.

Minns argued in his appeal that Torres improperly prevented him from pursuing that line of questioning and said the issue was crucial to the defense because it would have established why Hatch believed he didn’t need to pay his taxes.