Jan 25, 2006 2:18 pm US/Eastern
'Survivor' Hatch Guilty Of Tax Evasion
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) ―
Richard Hatch, the "fat naked guy" who won $1 million in the debut season of the reality show "Survivor," was found guilty Wednesday of failing to pay taxes on his winnings.
Hatch 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. But he was acquitted of seven bank, mail and wire fraud charges. Jurors deliberated for less than a day after more than a week of testimony.
Hatch, 44, of Newport, faces up to 13 years in prison and a fine of $600,000.
One possible explanation for Hatch's failure to pay taxes was raised by his lawyer 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.
CBS did not comment on the charges Friday, and a spokesman for "Survivor" executive producer Mark Burnett — who testified earlier at Hatch's trial — did not immediately comment.
"Consistent with our policy, CBS does not comment on ongoing legal matters," a CBS spokeswoman said.
"Survivor" has been a mainstay of CBS' lineup ever since it became a sensation in the summer of 2000 and, after "American Idol," is consistently television's most popular reality game. The 12th installment of the show, set in Panama, begins on CBS Feb. 2.
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.
A poll conducted by The Associated Press and TV Guide last September found that 82 percent of Americans believe that reality shows are either "totally made up" or "mostly distorted."
Yet they watch them anyway. The fifth season debut of "American Idol" on Tuesday drew nearly 36 million viewers — the most-watched entertainment show this TV season — despite last year's charges that contest judge Paula Abdul had slept with a previous contestant (Fox concluded the charges were unsubstantiated).
The heart of "Survivor" is putting real people in stressful situations and watching how they react to one another, Thompson said.
"I don't know if (viewers) care if they have the integrity that you would expect on a journalistic documentary," he said.
"Survivor" had one brush with security in 2003. An offshore bookie suspended betting that year on who the "Survivor" winner would be when he noticed a large number of people betting on contestant Sandra Diaz-Twine, the eventual winner.
The most recent "Survivor" edition, based in Guatemala, averaged 18.3 million viewers, placing it among Nielsen Media Research's 10 most popular shows of the year. The show leads off CBS' Thursday schedule, the most lucrative night of the week for advertising revenue.
(© 2006 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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