A contractor testifying for the government says he did extensive renovations at two of Richard Hatch's properties on Aquidneck Island.

01:00 AM EST on Friday, January 20, 2006

BY RICHARD SALIT
Journal Staff Writer

PROVIDENCE -- Richard Hatch, who 10 months ago walked away from an agreement to plead guilty to filing false income tax returns, will have his day in court today.

Hatch will take the witness stand in U.S. District Court this morning, his lawyer Michael Minns said yesterday. He will defend himself against 10 criminal counts, including allegations that he evaded paying taxes on the $1 million he won on the reality show Survivor in 2000 and that he used contributions to a charity he founded for home improvements and other personal expenses.

Minns, in his opening statement last week, promised the jury that the Survivor star -- who became infamous for his scheming ways and nude prime-time appearances -- would testify. "You will meet the real Richard Hatch," he said.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew Reich and Lee Vilker rested their case yesterday after calling witnesses for five days. The defense on the other hand is expected to be much briefer. Four defense witnesses took the stand beginning yesterday afternoon and the remaining two, including Hatch, are likely to be finished by the end of today.

After the prosecution rested yesterday and the jury left the courtroom, Hatch's other lawyer, John E. MacDonald, made a routine motion for acquittal. He told Judge Ernest C. Torres that the prosecution had not presented sufficient evidence to prove Hatch guilty of tax evasion, filing false income tax returns and wire, bank and mail fraud.

But Torres denied the motion.

"It's pretty clear there is more than sufficient evidence to take this case to a jury," said Torres. He said there was "ample evidence" that Hatch acted willfully.

Hatch had reached an agreement last March to plead guilty to two counts of filing false income tax returns, which carried a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. According to the plea deal, prosecutors said they would recommend to the judge a "term of imprisonment at the lowest range of sentences for the offense."

After Hatch walked away from the deal, prosecutors brought the case to a federal grand jury, which returned an indictment on the 10 charges.

The maximum penalties for the charges Hatch faces are five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each of two counts of tax evasion, three years in prison and a $100,000 fine for one count of filing a false income tax return, five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each of six counts of wire and mail fraud and 30 years in prison and a $1-million fine for each count of bank fraud.

Yesterday, prosecution witness Kenneth Downes, owner of Downes Construction, in Newport, testified that his company performed extensive renovations at two of Hatch's properties on Aquidneck Island before and after Hatch's appearance on Survivor.

Some work took place at 102 Green End Lane, Middletown. But most of the work took place at 21 Annandale Rd. The job included much new construction, including the addition of a garage with upstairs office space and a porch. Downes also put in new wood flooring, remodeled the kitchen and installed red cedar shingling, a mahogany front door and a custom mailbox that the builder said took 40 hours to build. In all, he said, the work totaled nearly $340,000. Other contractors, he said, were responsible for electrical work, landscaping and other improvements.

Jason Rameaka, a special agent for the IRS, testified the previous day that $10,000 of the money Downes was paid was transferred from a bank account into which Hatch had deposited contributions for Horizon Bound, an outdoor adventure program for teens he maintained he was starting up. Another $16,000 paid to Downes came from a corporate account Hatch used to deposit checks he received for cohosting a Boston radio show. Prosecutors allege that Hatch did not report about $320,000 of income from the radio station.

Downes was called back as a witness for the defense. Under questioning by MacDonald, Downes estimated that about $80,000 was spent on the addition housing the office, where Hatch's lawyers have suggested that administrative work for Horizon Bound could be conducted.

In another effort to bolster Horizon Bound's legitimacy, the defense called Paul Mello to the stand. Mello was one of Hatch's high school teachers in Middletown and ran Horizon Bound in the 1970s; Hatch credited the program with turning around his troubled youth. Mello said that after the first season of Survivor, Hatch called him to ask how he could possibly revive Horizon Bound.

"He said it was a life-changing experience for him," said Mello. When Hatch asked if he "could have the name Horizon Bound," Mello testified, "I said yes he could."

Under cross-examination by Vilker, Mello said that when Hatch incorporated Horizon Bound as a nonprofit charity, his former student put his name down as secretary without his knowledge. Mello also acknowledged that he had done no work for the new Horizon Bound.

But when MacDonald asked him if he has since had conversations with Hatch about why he was listed as a corporate secretary, Mello said yes.

Christopher Behan, Hatch's Newport lawyer, said that he defended Hatch against criminal-abuse charges filed against him after he won Survivor. The charge, stemming from an accusation that he hit his adopted son, was eventually dismissed and his son was returned to him by the state. It was a stressful time for his client, he said. The defense has suggested that Hatch's state of mind was a factor in his filing incorrect tax returns.

"There was a great deal of intense media attention all the time," Behan said. "They were going to his house. They were trying to call him."

Allan David, Hatch's Beverly Hills personal manager, testified that people come across differently on Survivor than they do in real life because the show is edited to hype the TV show's dramatic elements.

rsalit@projo.com / (401) 277-7467