Richard Hatch

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Judge to consider release of 'Survivor' winner Hatch
3:45 PM Fri, Sep 11, 2009
Alan Rosenberg

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) -- A federal judge in Massachusetts will consider the case of Survivor winner Richard Hatch, who's been in a jail since last month after giving unauthorized TV interviews while serving home confinement.

The American Civil Liberties Union represents the former reality star and said Friday that Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton set a hearing Monday.

Hatch was convicted in Providence in 2006 of failing to pay taxes on his $1 million Survivor winnings. He was serving the home confinement portion of his sentence at his sister's home in Newport.

In TV interviews last month, he said the trial judge discriminated against him because he's gay. The Bureau of Prisons told his lawyer two of those interviews were unauthorized and took him into custody.

The ACLU says Hatch's First Amendment rights were violated.

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Hatch To remain In Jail-AP

Survivor" winner Richard Hatch will stay behind bars for now.

A federal judge Wednesday denied Hatch's request to serve the remaining weeks of his sentence for tax evasion in home confinement. The judge also said prison officials can discipline Hatch by taking away nine days of good time. That means he won't get out until Oct. 16.

Hatch was convicted of failing to pay taxes on his $1 million prize as the winner of the debut season of the CBS reality show.

He had been serving the final portion of his 51-month sentence in home confinement at his sister's house in Newport, R.I., when he was sent back to jail last month for giving what prison officials said were unauthorized media interviews.

Hatch claimed the Federal Bureau of Prisons was retaliating against him after he criticized the prosecutor and judge in his case during three interviews. Prison officials say Hatch was only authorized to give one interview.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts asked the judge to release him and let him finish his sentence in home confinement.

Judge Nathaniel Gorton ruled Wednesday that Hatch violated Bureau of Prison rules and must remain in federal custody at the Barnstable County jail in Bourne, Mass.

"The court finds that Hatch was, in fact, prohibited from contacting the media without prior authorization and, therefore, was not arbitrarily punished for doing so," Gorton wrote in his ruling.

The ACLU said it was disappointed with the ruling.

"We understood that there might be valid security concerns when you're talking about a prison facility where you can't have the media coming in, but that's not the case when you're dealing with someone in home confinement," said spokesman Christopher Ott.


Real funny note, in another article here is the picture from it

Richard Hatch of Battlestar Galactica show LOL--good research!

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Hatch with Sue Hawk & Rudy?

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Richard Hatch to remains behind bars for nine more days

Former “Survivor” Richard Hatch was scheduled to be released from jail today, but will remain in jail for an additional nine days, Access Hollywood has learned.

“Rich was ordered to an additional 9 days as punishment for allegedly not having obtained the requisite permissions to conduct the Access Hollywood and NBC Channel 10 Providence on-camera interviews, or for calling in to a radio show the following day,” Hatch’s lawyer, Cynthia M. Ribas told Access.

“We still have proceedings pending that could change this but as things currently stand,” she continued. “We expect Rich’s release next Friday, October 16th.”

As previously reported on AccessHollywood.com, Richard was taken into custody in August by the Barnstable County Sheriff’s Office. He was jailed after giving several television interviews to NBC’s the “Today” show, NBC affiliate WJAR-TV and also to Access. According to Ribas, the Bureau of Prisons told her only the “Today” interview had been cleared and the others were thus a violation. Therefore Hatch would have to serve the remaining amount of his sentence in jail, rather than under house arrest.

He had previously been under house arrest following three-and-a-half years of incarceration for tax evasion.

Hatch has claimed the executive producers of “Survivor” told him they would pay the taxes on the $1 million he eventually took home for winning the show.

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The Associated Press: 'Survivor' star Hatch ends federal tax sentence

"Survivor" winner Richard Hatch was released from a Massachusetts jail early Friday after completing a federal sentence for evading taxes on the $1 million he won during the CBS reality show's first season.

Hatch was freed shortly before 6 a.m. from Barnstable County jail in Bourne, Mass., sheriff spokesman Roy Lyons said. He was driven home to Newport, R.I., by sheriff's deputies and arrived there around 7:30 a.m., Lyons said.

Hatch is living with his sister, who declined to comment Friday and instructed a reporter to leave the property.

Hatch, 48, now faces three years of supervised release. He won't be able to leave Rhode Island without permission and must check in with his probation officer regularly, said Barry Weiner, chief U.S. probation officer for Rhode Island. Hatch doesn't have a job yet, but he will have to find one, Weiner said. He must also complete a mental health program.

Hatch's husband is from Argentina, and he has asked the court unsuccessfully in the past to grant him permission to live there and to go overseas to participate in a "Survivor" reunion show. Weiner said those on supervised release are typically only allowed to leave the country under special circumstances, but he wouldn't speak specifically about Hatch's case.

Hatch remains one of reality TV's most famous villains, the man viewers loved to hate. He first captured their attention for shedding his clothes on "Survivor," prompting David Letterman to nickname 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.

In 2006, he was convicted of tax evasion for not paying taxes on his "Survivor" winnings, as well as on $327,000 he earned as co-host of a Boston radio show and $28,000 in income from rental property. The judge tacked on extra prison time to his sentence after finding he had lied on the stand, giving him a 51-month prison term.

Under the terms of Hatch's supervised release, he must refile his 2000 and 2001 tax returns and pay all his back taxes, Weiner said.

After serving several years behind bars, Hatch was released to home confinement earlier this year and was supposed to complete his sentence at his sister's home in Newport. But in August he got into trouble with the Bureau of Prisons when he granted three television interviews to NBC's "Today" show," local NBC affiliate WJAR-TV and the NBC-owned "Access Hollywood."

The Bureau of Prisons said he was only authorized to give the "Today" interview and ordered him taken to jail for violating the rules. Hatch's lawyer said they thought all three were allowed, and Hatch said he was being punished for comments he made during the interviews, when he criticized the judge and prosecutor in his case and said he was discriminated against because he is gay.

A federal judge last month found that Hatch broke the rules and allowed the Bureau of Prisons to add nine days to Hatch's time behind bars as punishment.