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Minneapolis ex-cop gets 10 years for tax crimes. Or for something else?

August 19, 2009

You'd think a cop would know that crime doesn't pay:

A former Minneapolis police officer was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison Tuesday for not paying taxes and showing others how to avoid paying taxes as well.
Douglas Leiter and two co-defendants were convicted in December of conspiracy to defraud the IRS out of more than $1 million. Six people in all were indicted in the scheme.

Twin Cities drivers may have cause to be thankful:

He was also notorious for a 1998 high-speed chase in which his squad car struck a pickup truck and killed two people in south Minneapolis. Following the crash, he was charged with two misdemeanors but not convicted. The families of the victims each received a $300,000 settlement from the city.

There's no mention that he has raised the Richard Hatch defense --"they're out to get me because I'm gay" -- but that might be coming:

In 2001 Leiter was suspended for 60 hours in connection with an off-duty search for records regarding his one-time housemate and former priest Timothy McCarthy, who had been accused of criminal sexual contact with an inmate at the Hennepin County juvenile detention center.

Because when you're not gay, it's perfectly fine to cheat the IRS out of $1 million. Just ask Richard Hatch.

Tags: Richard Hatch.tax crime.