JOE COCKER - TRUMPET PLAYER DRISCOLL IN PRISON FOR TAX EVASION

TRUMPET PLAYER DRISCOLL IN PRISON FOR TAX EVASION

Grammy Award-winning trumpeter PHIL DRISCOLL has started serving a one-year tax evasion sentence in a federal prison after a judge denied his request to remain free while he appeals his conviction. The 59-year-old musician reported to a federal penitentiary in Atlanta, Georgia on Monday (12MAR07). Last June (06) a jury convicted him on charges of conspiracy and tax evasion involving his gospel music ministry. Driscoll and his wife, LYNNE, were accused of conspiring, with her mother, bookkeeper CHRIS BLANKENSHIP, to avoid reporting personal income of more than $1 million (GBP513,000) between 1996 and 1999. According to an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) agent, who testified at the trial, the couple used Driscoll's Mighty Horn Ministries to shield the money and avoid paying $129,000 (GBP66,000) in taxes. Lynne Driscoll was acquitted on the conspiracy count, while Blankenship died before the trial began. The musician has recorded more than 30 albums and has performed with JOE COCKER, STEPHEN STILLS, LEON RUSSELL and BLOOD, SWEAT + TEARS. He received a Grammy in 1984.