'Survivor' star Hatch sent to jail for tax cheating

PROVIDENCE, R.I. --"Survivor" winner Richard Hatch's scheming helped him divide and conquer fellow contestants on his way to winning $1 million on the CBS show that launched a reality TV craze.

His gambling backfired Wednesday when a federal jury convicted Hatch of failing to pay taxes on that prize, and a judge sent him straight to jail.

Since prosecutors charged him last year, Hatch seemed to handle his case like another competition. He suddenly walked away from a plea agreement that would have likely offered less prison time, traded lawyers and went on national TV to proclaim his innocence to Katie Couric. During the trial, he smiled, joked and gestured before jurors as if they were contestants ripe for an alliance.

When he lost, Hatch nodded his head calmly like an experienced risk-taker who played the game and came up short.

"There's no amount of calculating that's going to get you out of paying your taxes," said Dr. Sean Kenniff, a fellow contestant and Hatch friend. "There's no loopholes for reality contestants to exploit."

The charges carry a maximum of 13 years in prison. U.S. District Judge Ernest Torres said he expected a sentence of between 33 months and 41 months, but it could be longer because prosecutors accuse Hatch of committing perjury during his testimony. Sentencing was scheduled for April 28.

Hatch, 44, of Newport, was also convicted of evading taxes on $327,000 he earned as co-host of a Boston radio show and $28,000 in rent on property he owned.

Hatch's lawyer, John MacDonald, said he would appeal the verdict, and said Hatch knew it was possible he would go to jail.

"Rich has been going through this now for three years and he's prepared himself mentally and emotionally for this date," MacDonald said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Reich said prosecutors were pleased with the verdict.

"Obviously, nobody likes paying taxes, but we all have to pay our fair share," Reich said.

After the verdict was announced, Torres jailed Hatch, saying he was a flight risk. Torres said Hatch never accounted for a significant portion of his money, including the "Survivor" prize, which the judge said could be used to flee.

In addition, Torres said he was concerned that Hatch was married to a man from Argentina whose visa expires next month, and that Hatch has claimed he lost an old copy of his passport.

One possible explanation for Hatch's failure to pay taxes was raised by his attorney toward the end of the trial but was never mentioned in the jury's presence.

Hatch's lawyer, Michael Minns, said Hatch caught fellow contestants cheating and struck a deal with producers for the show to pay his taxes if he won. But, ultimately, Hatch was never asked about the allegation when he testified.

Instead, Minns told jurors Hatch was the "world's worst bookkeeper" and said his client never meant to do anything wrong. Hatch testified that he thought producers were supposed to pay his "Survivor" taxes, and said the donations he took from his charity were far less than the money he had already poured into it.

One juror, Robert Paquette, 43, of West Greenwich, said in a telephone interview that jurors believed Hatch had legitimate questions about who was responsible for paying his "Survivor" taxes. But he said Hatch crossed the line when he didn't report income from his rental property and radio show.

"Even if you take the 'Survivor' money out of there, there was still a lot of evidence," Paquette said.

Hatch was acquitted of seven bank, mail and wire fraud charges that related to his charity, Horizon Bound, an outdoors program he planned to open for troubled youth.

More than five years after winning, Hatch remains reality TV's most famous villain, the man viewers loved to hate. He first captured their attention for shedding his clothes on "Survivor," prompting David Letterman to dub him "the fat naked guy."

But he made the biggest impression -- and won the show -- by scheming his way to the top. He reveled as squabbles among his fellow contestants thinned their ranks, connived with teammates to stick together then pitted his allies against each other.

When Hatch abandoned his plea deal last year, prosecutors responded with a grand jury, which indicted him on 10 counts carrying a maximum of 73 years in prison and millions of dollars in fines.

During the trial, prosecutors called a string of witnesses, including Mark Burnett, executive producer of "Survivor."

Burnett testified that Hatch's "Survivor" contract stated he would have to pay taxes on his prize. Minns never asked him about the cheating allegation, and Burnett and CBS declined to comment.