TAX CHEAT

Jim Thorpe, 60, professional golfer

Professional golfer Jim Thorpe was sentenced to a one-year prison term in Orlando federal court Friday for failing to pay income taxes.

Thorpe, a more than 10-time winner on the Champions Tour, was facing two years in prison for failing to pay personal income taxes. He must turn himself in to authorities by April 1.

Thorpe pleaded guilty in September to two counts of failing to pay income taxes. He agreed to pay all taxes, interest and penalties owed to the IRS — more than $2 million, prosecutors say.

Federal prosecutors said Thorpe, who lives in the exclusive Seminole County community Heathrow, earned more than $5 million from PGA events and endorsements from 2002 to 2004. And though he filed time extensions with the Internal Revenue Service to file personal and corporate tax returns, he didn't pay his personal taxes.

Reuters: "Prosecutors said that for 2002, 2003 and 2004, Thorpe did not file an individual tax return until after he was confronted by special agents of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)."

KICKER: Assistant U.S. Attorney Randy Gold stated Thorpe was the initial target of an IRS investigation in New York — though he was not charged criminally. (He doesn't say when, but it was the mid-90s, according to Brager Tax Law Group.)