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Roger Penske
By Andrew Cutler October 4 2008
A tearful Helio Castroneves plead not guilty to tax evasion charges in a Miami courtroom yesterday. The driver, his sister & lawyer Alan Miller have all been charged with setting up off-shore accounts for the express purpose of avoiding U.S. income taxes.

Helio's attorney at the hearing claimed that the IndyCar veteran, who relied on Miller's avice in setting up the accounts, was unaware that they violated any laws. Helio was released on a $10 million dollar bond, after surrendering his passport to the court. He is expected to be at Road Atlanta this weekend for the ALMS race.

The uncertianty of his future has cast a dark cloud over Team Penske's plans as they start preparing for the October race in Austalia &, beyond that, the 2009 IndyCar season. "It's not fair to discuss what our options are," team boss Roger Penske said while getting ready for the ALMS event. "We need to understand (the charges). Obviously we'll talk with Helio in detail about this, but we need to let this play out." If he is found guilty, Castroneves could be looking at several years of jail time, which would mean that Team Penske will be looking for another driver.

But that isn't the only reason why drivers are following this situation closely. Alan Miller, the lawyer who allegedly advised Helio on the off-shore accounts, also handles financial & legal matters for several top IndyCar & NASCAR drivers, including two-time & defending Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson. "It is certainly shocking," Johnson said upon hearing of Miller's legal woes. "Alan has been my attorney since I was 15. He has been a great friend and has helped me with a lot of great things. I have an outside tax group that helps me, so right now, everything is still the same. I'm learning a lot as time goes on here and there is still a lot to be investigated and uncovered moving forward. I'm interested in what we learn."

 

 

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