"Ponderosa Princes" roped in with jail terms

0 Comments | AFP, July, 2005

SYDNEY (AFP) — A self-styled Australian "prince" who declared his farm an independent principality to avoid paying taxes was jailed for 35 months for defrauding the government.

Virgilio "Big Joe" Rigoli, 67, and his sons Joseph, 29, and Philip, 36, were charged after allegedly failing to pay taxes on 6.9 million dollars (5.2 million US) earned between 1991 and 2000 on their property at Shepparton in northern Victoria state.

All three were convicted earlier this month and sentenced on Friday, with Joseph receiving a two-year jail term and Philip receiving a suspended 20-month term, the domestic Australian news agency AAP reported.

In addition to his 35-month prison term, the father was also fined 25,000 dollars.

Virgilio Rigoli declared independence...