Wesley Snipes, the Blade star, is standing trial in federal court for fraud, conspiracy, and wilful failure to file tax returns from 1999 - 2004, a period when he allegedly earned $38 million. He faces a maximum of 16 years in prison. According to the prosecution, Snipes, in a 600 word letter to the Internal Revenue Service, declared himself "a nonresident alien" not subject to the laws of the United States and stated that the IRS sought to "terrorize, enslave, rape, and pillage" taxpayers. He warned that his continued prosecution would result in "significant personal liability" to IRS agents. And in a statement breathtakingly stupid, he added:
Warning - pursuit of such a high profile target will open the door to your increased collateral risk. I certainly don't believe this is in your best interests.
Snipes' predicament reminds me of an observation I heard growing up about the futility of ill-advised behavior: "I admire his spunk but damn his judgment."
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