At the end of a leafy cul-de-sac an hour's drive from New York City, Snipes' spread is both remarkable and unremarkable. It's a huge stucco estate with postcard views and endless lawns. And yet it's virtually identical to every other million-dollar house on the block. A Snipes employee answers the door, stepping inside to reveal an airy marble foyer flanked by a pair of life-size African statues. On one side is a male warrior holding a spear; on the other, a proud tribal mother nursing an infant. In between the two stands a fit 45-year-old man dressed in a dashiki, flashing a thousand-watt smile.
Snipes leads the way into a spacious living room and takes a seat in a hand-carved wooden throne. It looks like something from the Broadway version of The Lion King. The Snipes attendant places plates of fresh fruit on the coffee table in front of his boss, who launches headfirst into why he's agreed to this meeting. ''I've been trying to keep the private life private,'' he explains in a calm voice. ''Not being savvy or trained on how to do good interviews like a politician, I thought it was wiser to follow my mother's advice: If you have nothing good to say, don't say anything at all.'' But, he adds, ''I think now, because of the litigation, because of certain things that have been written...I thought it was time to share a little insight about where I'm coming from, how happy I am, how in-shape I am, and that life is good.''
Judging by his surroundings — the kids' toys that litter the living room, the opulence, the staff serving fresh fruit — life does indeed appear to be good. But, of course, it is not. Next month, Snipes will face trial on eight counts of tax fraud in a federal courthouse in Ocala, Fla. In its October 2006 indictment, the U.S. Attorney's Office alleged that Snipes (along with his financial adviser Eddie Ray Kahn and his long-distance accountant Douglas P. Rosile) attempted to defraud the IRS of more than $11 million in bogus refund claims for the tax years 1996 and 1997, and moreover, that Snipes did not file returns at all for the years 1999 to 2004.
When the indictment was unsealed, Snipes was in Namibia (on the southwest coast of Africa) shooting an independently financed zombie Western called Gallowwalker. And when the actor did not immediately turn himself in to federal authorities, his absence — and the fact that Namibia doesn't have an extradition treaty with the U.S. — fueled speculation in the press that Snipes wasn't just a celebrity tax cheat but also a fugitive.
Now, a year later, Snipes laughs at these allegations. ''They positioned it like, 'He's irresponsible, dangerous, guilty — this is why he's in Africa,''' he says. ''All these things, they play into our stereotypes. People think I'm Nino Brown [his gangster character from 1991's New Jack City] or Blade. They think I'm an evil dude.'' When asked who ''they'' are, Snipes replies, ''People in positions of authority and who control mass media.''
Snipes maintains that when he first learned of the indictment, he and his attorneys immediately contacted the IRS and began negotiating his return to the States to turn himself in. But because his agreement with the IRS allowed him to delay his surrender in order to accommodate Gallowwalker's shooting schedule, it appeared as though he was stalling for time — that he was guilty. In December, Snipes chartered a private jet, flew from Namibia to Orlando, and turned himself in to the U.S. Marshals — ironically, the very same agency that he'd once observed and gotten to know while making 1998's U.S. Marshals, the sequel to The Fugitive.
Snipes flatly denies all of the government's charges against him and insists that he filed returns for all of the years in question. And while he admits that yes, with the assistance of Kahn and Rosile, he did request refunds totaling $11.4 million for 1996 and 1997 taxes he paid, he never did so with the intent to defraud the IRS. Instead, he claims he was merely following the counsel of his advisers. ''The accountants say you're entitled to a refund because of these particular rules and regulations,'' he says. ''So you say all right.... If someone tells me I'm entitled to a refund, I'll go for the refund!''
NEXT PAGE: ''I never got a dime,'' Snipes insists. ''I didn't defraud the government by taking money that was not mine. We never got it!'
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