That's A No Go, Helio

A judge tossed out Castroneves' request for mistrial as the jury is still stuck in neutral in his tax evasion case

Helio Castroneves doesn't like being parked, but the Brazilian racing machine will have to wait and like it.

Day 5 of deliberations in his federal tax evasion case will probably go much like the first four as the jury tries to become experts in federal tax law and definitions.

U.S. District Judge Donald Graham has tried to help by providing definitions to complex tax law. it hasn't helped so far.

Just to liven up the action, Castroneves' lawyers moved for a mistrial on Wednesday, claiming Graham overstepped his bounds by giving definitions. A stretch, of course, but it at least gave people in the courtroom something to do.

The two-time Indianapolis 500 winner, his sister-business manager Katiucia Castroneves and attorney Alan Miller face more than six years in prison if convicted of tax evasion and conspiracy charges.

Prosecutors claim the trio set up a Panamanian shell company to hide $5.5 million of Castroneves' income. He owes about $2.3 million in taxes, prosecutors said.

Defense attorneys argued Castroneves was too busy shaking his booty and winning races to pay attention to what was happening with his finances. And the other two are innocent, too.
 
The 33-year-old Castroneves became a household name in the U.S. after he won TV's "Dancing With The Stars" competition in 2007.
 
Castroneves has already missed the start of the racing season.
Contact Us