He didn't pay taxes, then fled before trial

Louis Joseph Vadino of Ramona was sentenced today (April 19) to 102 months in federal prison for evading federal taxes, then vamoosing right before his trial, stashing money in an offshore bank (in Greece), and lying to federal officials. He was sentenced in Orange County, where the crimes were committed before he fled to Ramona.

The charges arose from $1.2 million in taxes that he should have paid on his 1999 tax return (which wasn't filed until 2006). He had made a bundle selling Orange County property. He stashed the proceeds in a Greek bank, and from 2006 to 2011 evaded paying what he owed on taxes.

He was indicted on tax evasion charges in 2012. On the eve of a trial the following year, he cut off his ankle braces and absconded. He applied for a passport in 2014, and had fake IDs, fake birth certificates, fraudulent passport applications and other documents that made clear he was planning to be a fugitive, said federal prosecutors. He has been in custody since 2014.