LEWIS RUN, Pa. (CBS/AP) Actor Wesley Snipes has begun serving his three-year prison sentence for failing to file income tax returns, after being denied his request to remain free during Christmas.
Although Snipes was hoping to spend the holidays with his family in Florida, the movie star reported to the Federal Correctional Institution McKean in Pennsylvania on Thursday morning, says Federal Prisons spokesman Ed Ross.
The minimum security prison in the northwest Pa. town of Lewis Run is a far cry from the ruthless lockups Snipes encountered in "Undisputed" and "Brooklyn's Finest." The facility does not even have a fence around its perimeter.
Snipes and his 300 nonviolent roommates live in barracks that feature two-man rooms.
The "Blade" star was convicted in 2008 on three misdemeanor counts for willfully failing to file federal tax returns from 1999-2001. During the three-year period, Snipes cheated the government out of $7 million, reports The New York Daily News.
Several last minute appeals to delay his imprisonment, including his most recent request to extend his surrender date to Jan. 6, 2001 so that he could spend time with his family during the holidays, were denied.
The Los Angeles Times has provided contact information for anyone wishing to send Snipes a Christmas card in prison:
Inmate No. 43355-018
McKean FCI
P.O. Box 8000
Bradford, PA 16701
