You have to wonder what Helio Castroneves did to garner the wrath of the IRS. You know, except for the tax evasion part – perhaps they were Melanie B/Scary Spice fans?
The two-time Indianapolis 500 winner and 2007 “Dancing With The Stars” champion pleaded not guilty today to tax evasion charges. He is accused of using offshore accounts to evade federal income taxes on more than $5 million in income.
Okay, so far, I get it…
But the fact that he appeared in court in handcuffs and leg chains floors me. Even more odd, his bail was set at $10 million bail. There must be something that I’m missing.
He’s accused of not reporting far less than Wesley Snipes was accused of and yet Snipes’ bail was a mere $1.5 million. And Joe Francis, who had a prior criminal history, is accused of reporting more than $20 million in phony expenses, and was granted bail of $1.5 million.
But Castroneves’ bail was set at almost ten times that. Ouch. His lawyers have accused prosecutors as strong arming the race car driver to make an example of him. I have to say, it kind of feels like it. I have been reporting tax evasion cases for a few years now – and this one feels like one of the smaller deals. I’m not saying that his behavior, if true, is okay. I just question leg chains for a non-violent offender with no prior criminal record – and bail that is significantly higher than that for others accused of similar crimes.
And he’s apparently taking it quite hard. According to reports, Castroneves was “visibly shaken and frowning” during his court appearance.
While he awaits his trial, Castroneves is allowed to travel for work in the US but not abroad. This means that he will likely be racing in Atlanta later this year, as planned, but will not race in Australia.
As winner of the mini-LeMans at Road Atlanta on Saturday, his bailout was indeed timely.