Despite a proposed switch in venue and an attempt to use the Nino Brown defense ("You gotta rob to get rich in the [W. Bush] era), Wesley Snipes sat in federal court yesterday to hear Judge William Terrell Hodges of Federal District Court's sentencing on tax evasion charges.

In declaring, "That's the difference between you and me. Don't get mad, Wesley. It's the law. Sucks, huh? Well, maybe when this is over with, you can come and work for me," Hodges handed Snipes three consecutive one-year sentences and one year of probation on top of a $17 million bill for back-due taxes and interest.

Surely Hodges was none too charmed by an attempt from Snipes' defense team in November to take the case out of the Ocala, Fla., district to Manhattan, fearing "a jury as partial and prejudicial as possible against Snipes." The motion described Ocala as "a hotbed of Klan activity where the Klan adopted highways to commemorate the Klan and the Confederate flag flies over government property."

At the heart of Snipes' crime was his funneling of income through Eddie Ray Khan, founder of Guiding Light of God Ministries. GLGM has been designated an illegal tax-evasion scheme, as Kahn got 10 years in prison from Hodges. See, Eddie, it's like this: You either smoke or you get smoked. And you got smoked.

Utterly predictably, Snipes' lawyer Linda Moreno has promised to appeal. In the meantime, perhaps Wesley should adopt Gloria Clemente's philosophy: "Sometimes when you win, you really lose, and sometimes when you lose, you really win, and sometimes when you win or lose, you actually tie, and sometimes when you tie, you actually win or lose. Winning or losing is all one organic mechanism, from which one extracts what one needs."

In the meantime, all sympathy to Snipes as MPR says, "See ya, wouldn't want to be ya."