Crime Blotter

The Friday crime blotter is chock full of bloggy goodness:

You've got William "Cold Cash" Jefferson pleading not guilty to having taken $90,000 and stashing it in his freezer as part of a 16 count indictment on corruption and fraud charges.

You've got Paris Hilton who has to make another court appearance today, a day after being released after serving only three days in a DUI case after claiming a medical ailment required her release. Some of those reports claims that she may have been suicidal, in which case release to home was inappropriate and immediate medical care at a supervised facility was. This is one of those times when Al Sharpton may be right for a change - Hilton appears to have received preferential treatment by the justice system because they were content to have her serve out the remainder of her sentence under house detention wearing an ankle bracelet (of course, she'd be living at her multimillion dollar mansion, but no parties or other gatherings allowed). The judge and prosecutor in the case opposed the release, which would explain why everyone is headed back to court.

George Michael (the former pop star) appears that he'll get to avoid jail:

George Michael has been sentenced to 100 hours of community service and banned from driving for two years at Brent Magistrates court, north London.

The 43-year-old had pleaded guilty to driving while unfit, blaming "tiredness and prescribed drugs" for the offence.

He was arrested in October last year after being found slumped at the steering wheel of his car.

UPDATE:
Paris Hilton is going to make her appearance by phone? Considering that her physical condition is at issue, one has to wonder what exactly is going on here.

UPDATE:
Well, she was required to make a physical appearance after all, and the judge just sent her back to jail. Ouch. That's gonna leave a mark. Apparently Paris again broke down and sobbed as she was led off back to jail. (HT: anonymous emailer)

UPDATE:
Here's a lesson to all those who are determined to piss off the judge. Don't do it. It will end badly. Paris could have served 23 days of her 45 day sentence had she not engaged in the melodrama we've seen. Instead, the judge slammed her with the full 45 days. The Judge did not appreciate the lies and nonsense surrounding today's hearing to boot. He was not in a charitable mood, and Paris went off to jail sobbing:



UPDATE:
Wesley Snipes, a one-time movie actor and now better known for his involvement in a tax avoidance scheme, is claiming that the IRS and federal government are engaged in selective prosecution in going after the millions he owes in taxes. In other words, Snipes is playing the race card against the IRS:

Facing trial in a bizarre tax avoidance scheme, actor Wesley Snipes claims that prosecutors used race as a factor in deciding to charge him with failure to file six years worth of IRS returns. In a motion to dismiss an eight-count indictment filed last October, Snipes argues that he is the victim of selective prosecution. Snipes points to the fact that his two "Caucasian" codefendants, Douglas Rosile and Eddie Kahn, have not been charged with failure to file tax returns, though investigators are aware that Kahn did not file returns for six years and that it was "possible" Rosile did not file for two years. Snipes, who was hit with six felonies for failing to file between 1999-2004, contends that the half-dozen counts were "impermissibly brought on the basis of Mr. Snipes' race" and should be "dismissed based on selective prosecution."