Stallone’s sequel to The Expendables has had many rumours involving every action star ever starring in it.
Wesley Snipes (Blade, Jungle Fever) had been rumoured and as he had worked with Stallone on Demolition Man it seemed highly likely that it could happen.
However, it now looks as if Snipes will be in prison for the next 3 years.
You probably knew there had been some legal problems for Snipes regarding alledged tax evasion. Well now it appears he will now have to do some time for it.
A federal judge on Friday rejected movie star Wesley Snipes’ demand for a new trial and ordered the actor to surrender to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons to begin serving a 36-month prison sentence for tax-related crimes.
In a 17-page order, U.S. District Court Judge William Terrell Hodges said, “The Defendant Snipes had a fair trial; he has had a full, fair and thorough review of his conviction and sentence by the Court of Appeals; and he has had a full, fair and thorough review of his present claims, during all of which he has remained at liberty. The time has come for the judgment to be enforced.”
Snipes, 48, an Orlando-born star of “Jungle Fever,” “White Men Can’t Jump,” and “The Fugitive” sequel “U.S. Marshals,” was convicted in 2008 of three misdemeanor counts of willfully failing to file federal tax returns.
The judge’s order requires Snipes to “surrender himself” upon receipt of notice from the U.S. Marshal Service or from the federal Bureau of Prisons. It is unclear in the order where and when he must turn himself in.
Prosecutors contend that the actor and film producer, who was featured in the Michael Jackson “Bad” video directed by Martin Scorsese, obstructed the IRS and attempted to avoid paying millions of dollars in federal taxes.
“It is just shocking,” Snipes’ Atlanta-based lawyer Daniel Meachum said in an e-mail to the Orlando Sentinel. “Wesley is very disappointed but staying strong and positive.”
The actor’s defense team had hoped the judge would grant Snipes a new trial after receiving e-mails from two jurors who claimed that other members of the panel had concluded the actor was guilty before the trial began.
Source: Sun Sentinel
