Richard Hatch (reality TV)
Richard Hatch (born
April 8,
1961) is the winner of the first American
Survivor series, which aired in 2000 and was set in
Pulau Tiga.
Prior to his
Survivor appearance, Hatch was a
corporate trainer from
Newport, Rhode Island. He spent five years in the
US Army, is a licensed
real estate agent, and has also worked as a car salesman and a
bartender.
Throughout the duration of
Survivor, Hatch claimed his profession as a corporate trainer aided him in his ability to deal with other people. He also admitted to being very cocky, a trait he soon came to be known by, and even made the notorious statement (on Day One) that he "already had the million dollar check written in his name."
Richard Hatch is known for his
nudist tendencies, and was shown on
Survivor naked. This all began with his 39th birthday, a day he says he had always planned to spend in the nude. Hatch also appeared on
Survivor: All-Stars, where he was also shown naked, with blurring by
Survivor editors.Openly
gay, Hatch has an
adopted son named Christopher from his previous marriage to Joanne Mansell. In May 2005, he married his partner, Emiliano Cabral, in
Sydney, Nova Scotia,
Canada.
David Letterman dubbed Hatch the "fat naked guy" in reference to his naked appearances.
In August
2005, Hatch was a contestant of
Battle of the Network Reality Stars in which his team lost in the finals.
He also appeared on the
Australian version of
Who Wants to be a Millionaire (hosted by
Eddie McGuire, not
Regis Philbin). He couldn't do the math properly and got his fourth question wrong.
As a contestant on
Survivor: All-Stars Hatch was voted out during the fifth episode. Prior to his removal, he caused some controversy when during a challenge he briefly rubbed his naked body against competitor
Sue Hawk. The event upset Sue, and she withdrew from the game as a result.
On
January 19,
2005, the United States Attorney's Office in
Providence, Rhode Island, reported that Hatch had failed to report the $1,010,000 he had received from the
Survivor show on his Federal income tax returns (the additional $10,000 was paid for his appearance on the final episode). Hatch also allegedly failed to report approximately $321,000 he received that year for appearances on radio station WQSX-FM in
Boston. Prosecutors stated Hatch would be charged with filing a false tax return. An agreement was arranged whereby Hatch was offered a lenient sentence in exchange for a guilty plea. Hatch withdrew from the arrangement. He subsequently said he was basing his defense on his belief (which he now acknowledges was not correct) that
CBS had arranged to pay the taxes before awarding him the money.
Hatch was
indicted on
September 8,
2005. The 10 count indictment included all of the above charges, plus additional charges that he failed to report rental income from properties he owned, failed to declare an automobile he won on
Survivor, used money as personal income that was paid to a charity organization he had set up, and had knowingly submitted false statements in the above transactions.
On
January 25,
2006 a jury in
Providence, Rhode Island found Hatch guilty of tax evasion. The verdict stated that Hatch did not pay taxes either on his "Survivor" winnings, or on $327,000 he earned as co-host of a Boston radio show and $28,000 in rent on property he owned. He was acquitted of seven bank, mail and wire fraud charges.
Hatch faced up to 13 years in prison and a fine of $600,000. On
May 16,
2006 he was sentenced to 51 months in prison, plus three years of supervised release after serving his sentence. He began serving his sentence at the Plymouth County Correctional Facility in
Massachusetts. In July, 2006 he was moved for a short period of time to the the Federal Transfer Center in
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in July, 2006.[
1] before being placed at the
Federal Correctional Institution in
Morgantown, West Virginia on August 2, 2006. His inmate number is 05559-070. After sentencing his lawyer
Michael Minns added: "It's bad for Richard, who is an outdoor person."
Hatch was arrested in April 2000 on a charge of abusing his then 9-year-old son. That charge was later dropped. In 2002, Hatch was found not guilty of assaulting his ex-boyfriend. However, this charge cost him a
game show host position on a
gay version of a dating game shown on
MTV at the time.
*
Hatch's Survivor Bio Page*
Richard Hatch's criminal indictment on
The Smoking Gun*
'Survivor' continues tour of U.S. prisons CNN.com, August 2, 2006
