Wacko #1: Richard Hatch

How Hatch, Gough and Martinez (see other stories) ever got to "naturist heroes" is quite beyond me.

Survivor, Nudist, Liar, Cheat: Now Richard Hatch Is Gay Inmate
by Tashi Singh
May 17, 2006

This is one test the opportunitistic Richard Hatch, the original 'Survivor' series winner, won't be able to charm, or cheat, his way out of.
Hatch earned his notoriety when he decided to shun clothing for the series, true ape man style, and happily enjoyed the aroused interest of his growing fan base of fellow gays.

After Hatch was crowned the number one Survivor, he took his million dollars in winnings and made the round of talk shows, continuing his gleeful style of shocking listeners and viewers with his outrageous comments.

Now Hatch, 45, has been sentenced to 4 years in jail for evading tax payments on his winnings, and has been ordered to pay approximately half a million dollars in back taxes as well as interest and penalties, reports the NY Daily News.

It was considered a rather stiff sentence by normal standards, but Federal Judge Ernest Torres said Hatch repeatedly lied, compounding his crimes, in saying that he "forgot" to tell his accountants about some other income he had, and that he "thought the Survivor producers would pay" his taxes.

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Hatch had reportedly originally agreed to plead guilty, but instead decided to open his big mouth and talk about his supposed innocence on the "Today" talk show. So the judge decided to hit Hatch where he lives.. which is now a jail cell.

Judge Torres was straightforward in his comments: "There's no nice way to say it: Mr. Hatch lied."

Hatch called out "See you later, Mom" as he was escorted from the courtroom in shackles. The judge lamented that Hatch appeared to be "in denial", but Eileen O'Connor, an assistant attorney general in the Justice Department's tax division, issued this tongue-in-cheek statement: "Our nation's federal tax system is not a reality show to be outwitted; it is a reality. Period."

Hatch, found guilty of tax evasion in January, was ordered into custody because he was deemed a flight risk. He is also reportedly requesting protective custody.. because as you can imagine.. a gay rich nudist walking around jail... need we say more?

-- Compiled from wire reports

http://www.postchronicle.com/news/entertainment/tittletattle/article_21219010.shtml