HAMMOND | Though he went four years without paying income taxes on $250,000, Gregory L. Hill was hoping to avoid any jail time so he could support his children, make house payments and keep working his hourly wage job.
But U.S. District Judge Philip Simon said he sentenced Hill to five months in a federal prison camp and ordered Hill to pay $71,815 in restitution Wednesday because the defendant flagrantly flouted the tax system, which relies upon the honesty of most people to function.
"I profoundly disagree with the defendant in this case," Simon said. "While (defense attorney Kerry) Connor makes some persuasive arguments ... at the end of the day, I view this as a very serious offense."
Between 2001 and 2004, Hill received nearly $250,000 as an off-the-books lawn maintenance contractor for the corrupt Gary Urban Enterprise Association. Federal court records indicate Hill is the longtime boyfriend of former GUEA fiscal manager Charmaine Pratchett, who already is in prison for embezzling from the GUEA.
Despite questions raised by auditors, Connor said in court Wednesday that no one ever claimed Hill dishonestly earned the money he obtained from the GUEA.
The issue was whether society was better served by imprisoning Hill -- a father of five -- for a misdemeanor tax charge, even though jail time will jeopardize his home and child-support payments, Connor said.
"I made a very bad mistake in not filing taxes, and I'm very sorry for that," Hill told Simon.
But Assistant U.S. Attorney Gary Bell said the judge also must consider what message would be sent to society by letting Hill go without real punishment.
"If you give probation, it's a slap on the wrist," Bell told Simon before Hill's sentence was announced. "Everyone's going to realize, 'I don't have to pay taxes. I'll go to federal court and get probation.'"
Hill is one of eight people who were convicted in 2007 of crimes related to the publicly funded GUEA, which dissolved itself last year after the unfolding scandals made it impossible for the nonprofit group to raise money.
