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Castroneves indicted on tax charge

Team Penske star is charged with failing to pay more than $5 million in taxes over a four-year period, authorities said. His sister, Kati Castroneves, and his lawyer, Allan Miller, are accused of assisting him in the alleged tax-evasion scheme.
The three have been indicted for conspiracy "for the purpose of impeding, impairing, obstructing, and defeating the lawful government functions of the Internal Revenue Service."

An example charge claims that Helio tried to pass off $2 million he received from a Brazilian trading company as earning only $200,000 in income.

Each charge of conspiracy and tax evasion carry a maximum punishment of five years in federal prison.
this sucks :(

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Permalink Reply by Jim Huntington on October 2, 2008 at 5:48pm

http://www.miamiherald.com/625/story/710736.html

This is not good for the league or Helio. I hope he can pay up and avoid the slammer. An ICS without Helio would be almost as bad as ICS without Danica.

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Permalink Reply by KoHoSo on October 2, 2008 at 9:07pm

Wow. I just saw this on the ESPN crawler and...wow. Then I read the story at ESPN.com...wow and ouch. This is serious stuff, kiddies. For alleged crimes like this -- especially involving the charge of conspiracy -- federal indictments are very rarely brought by grand juries without some dadgum good evidence. Wow. I am simply stunned, disheartened, and disappointed.

Some of you may not like this, but I'm going to ask it anyway...what are the odds of this resulting in Hornish returning to Penske's ICS team and the putting of somebody else in NASCAR's #77 even if Helio just pays his back taxes or is found not guilty?

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Permalink Reply by micheal on October 3, 2008 at 7:11pm

AS PER JOHNNY CASH..I AM NOT HOLIER THAN THOUGH, BUT STILL HAVE TO ANSWER TO UNCLE SAM TOO..SAY IT ISNT SO HELIO..I AGREE 5-10 MIL IS CHUMP CHANGE TO HIM..WELL..WE WILL SEE...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1e0EQlQXoEo

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Permalink Reply by Tyler Carmichael on October 3, 2008 at 9:01am

I think Sam would be the logical choice to come back to Penske since he drives for their NASCAR team. I also think to speculate at this time is to soon because of the legal ramifications that Helio is facing. From my brief dealing with Helio in the garages, he is a very nice guy to by around and bundle of energy, out of respect for him, let the legal process work it’s self out.

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Permalink Reply by Wilsonfan on October 3, 2008 at 9:36am

Totally disagree that Sam Hornish would be the logical choice to return to Penske Indy racing. The league has changed alot the past two years--many more road/street races added to the schedule and Sam was never a STAR on those courses. I fear the fans would eat him alive if he returned and wasn't able to excel the way he did years earlier. I feel for everyone involved in this "Heliogate" mess--including Roger Penske. What happens to the indy team should be interesting.

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Permalink Reply by KoHoSo on October 3, 2008 at 10:10am

I respect both opinions above. To ICG I say, of course Helio deserves due process and is presumed innocent until proven guilty. On the other hand, if it weren't for speculation and those who like to at least occasionally engage in it, the Internet would not exist. :-D

Wilsonfan, you make a great point. But, I wonder...who else would be better to step into an IndyCar right away and be more "Penske perfect" other than Hornish? This would be a big blow to both Penske and the league if Helio has to step away. As I think of it, wouldn't it be better to smooth over the wound to bring in Hornish rather than somebody else that North American fans have never heard of?

Just thoughts...even this many hours later, I am still stunned at the width and depth of these indictments.

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Permalink Reply by Hawkeye50317 on October 3, 2008 at 1:15pm

Let's all remember that indicted is not convicted. Let's wait and see how the case concludes before we think about tossing Helio to the Lions....

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Permalink Reply by Wheldongrl4 on October 3, 2008 at 6:09pm

I read that he pleaded not guilty and is free on $10 million bail. That' chump change to him and he can afford it. I don't want to see him in the slammer anymore than the rest of you. He's part of the league and that doesn't look good for the league. I didn't think Helio or his sister would do something like this. No matter how rich you are, you STILL have to answer to Uncle Sam every April 15.

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Permalink Reply by Wilsonfan on October 3, 2008 at 9:43pm

Heliogate will occupy our interest for quite a while I'm afraid. http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls/PressReleases/08.002-ol.html

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Permalink Reply by Wilsonfan on October 5, 2008 at 9:56am

Just read an article by Indystar.com Kravitz concerning Helio. Rather nasty article comparing Helio's bad decisions to Michael Vicke (the pit bull fighting football player). Couldn't help but wonder if any NASCAR prominent drivers are guilty of similar bad decisions--maybe attention should be directed in that direction since that is where ALL the money is--drivers, car owners, track owners, promoters, etc. Now that would make front page news.

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Permalink Reply by Robbie Solesbee on October 5, 2008 at 12:09pm

Very good point and considering how ANYTHING involving the France family and ISC seems to be a shady deal. Also considering how some NASCAR sponsorship deals have ended up in court it would be worth looking into. One point I did mean to bring up earlier is if you hire people to handle your money shouldn't they be the ones liable for any criminal conduct? I just can't see any driver, athlete, or any other celebrity in this day and time actually having the time to know every detail of their business holdings let alone how much money they actually take in.