US District Court Judge Donald Graham has ruled that the show will go one: two time Indy 500 champ Helio Castroneves – and more importantly, one-time winner of the “Dancing With the Stars” mirrored disco ball – failed to convince Judge Graham to grant his motion to dismiss charges in his federal tax evasion case.
Graham also denied additional motions, including two by Castroneves’ former lawyer, Alan R. Miller, who is seeking a separate trial and dismissal of the charges. Miller is accused of assisting Castroneves in a multimillion-dollar tax-evasion scheme. Each of the seven counts in the indictment carries a potential 5-year prison sentence.
According to reports, another hearing is scheduled early next week for a motion to dismiss three tax evasion counts because the statute of limitations may have expired. There are exceptions in the Tax Code which extend the statute of limitations in the case of fraud and gross under-reporting, so it will be interesting to see the outcome of that request.
In the meantime, Castroneves continues to maintain his innocence – and his winning smile (yes, I’m a little distracted by his charm) – telling reporters, “They’re trying to show something that doesn’t exist.”
The trial is set to begin next month. Gentlemen, start your engines.
