Snipes surrenders to begin prison sentence

PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 9 (UPI) -- Film star Wesley Snipes surrendered as ordered Thursday and is to begin his three-year sentence for tax evasion in a Pennsylvania prison, officials told TMZ.

"Wesley Snipes has self-surrendered to the minimum security Federal Prison Camp at the Federal Correctional Institution McKean, in Bradford, Pa.," said Traci Billingsley, chief public information officer for the Bureau of Prisons.

"Wesley Snipes has arrived and is at the prison facility in Pa.," added prison spokesman Ed Ross, TMZ said.

The actor was convicted in 2008 of failure to file tax returns and pay federal income taxes. His conviction was upheld by an appellate court in July and he was told this month he had to surrender to authorities Thursday to begin his prison sentence, despite his legal team's numerous attempts to get him a new trial.

Snipes, 48, starred in the "Blade" trilogy, "White Men Can't Jump," "U.S. Marshals" and "To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar."