Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, August 5, 1994 TAG: 9408050046
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: FROM WIRE REPORTS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Country music legend Willie Nelson said his tax bill, which once ballooned to $32 million, has been paid off for a mere $16.7 million after years of negotiations.
"We signed all the papers, so everything is back to even again," Nelson said in today's Tennessean newspaper.
"The investigation started 14 years ago," Nelson explained. "I was somewhere in Boston one night, and these two guys came up, flipped their badges and said, `We're with the IRS."'
To help pay the debt, the IRS auctioned some of his properties and Nelson made an album called "Who'll Buy My Memories: The IRS Tapes."
\ Too bad the judge couldn't order Wesley Snipes to improve his peripheral vision.
The movie star pleaded no contest Wednesday to reckless driving. Snipes zipped past a Florida state trooper in April and led the officer on a 120 mph chase for 30 miles down the Florida Turnpike, police said.
Snipes, 32, knew he was speeding, but didn't realize police were chasing him, the actor's spokesman said at the time.
The chase ended when the trooper bumped Snipes' motorcycle at a turnpike exit and Snipes was thrown to the ground. His injuries were minor.
The judge ordered Snipes to perform 80 hours of community service, pay $7,100 in fines and court costs and pay for the repair of the patrol car.
\ Perhaps wedded bliss will help Joe Eszterhas write about healthy relationships.
Eszterhas, who penned "Basic Instinct," "Sliver" and "Jagged Edge," married Naomi Baka in a private ceremony in Maui, Hawaii, his publicist said Wednesday.
"I came to this country as a refugee [from Hungary] when I was 6 years old. I've been a loner all my life," Eszterhas said in a wedding toast. "Naomi, I don't feel like a loner anymore."
by CNB