'Survivor' star Hatch released from RI prison

[December 13, 2011]  PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) -- Reality television star Richard Hatch has been released from a state prison after serving a nine-month sentence for failing to pay back taxes.

Hatch, the winner of the first season of the CBS reality show "Survivor," was released Monday, a state prison official said.

Hatch, 50, served six weeks at a state minimum-security facility as a transition after spending most of his sentence in federal prison.

The Newport resident had spent more than three years in prison for not paying taxes on his $1 million "Survivor" winnings. He was released in 2009 and ordered to refile his 2000 and 2001 taxes and pay what he owed.

He went back to prison in March for violating the terms of his supervised release by failing to settle his tax bill. He had claimed he was "financially destitute."

Hatch said Monday night he was "happy" to have been released but didn't know where he would be staying. He maintained he's innocent of failing to pay his taxes.

[Associated Press]

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