Cipollini faces tax evasion fees of 1.1 million euro

The tax magistrate of the Province of Lucca has stated that they are after ex-professional Mario Cipollini for taxes on €1.6 million of revenue for the years of 1998 and 1998. The total fees due for the Italian, winner of 42 stages in the Giro d'Italia, are estimated to arrive at €1.1 million (including taxes, sanctions and interest).

"He kept frequenting his family who lived in Lucca," read a statement from the magistrate reported in La Gazzetta dello Sport regarding Cipollini, who declares residence in Monaco. "His presence for training and relaxation was in Lucca for the entire season. This does not even consider that his parents, who are available for health services (his father is in a retirement home ...), and doesn't account the fines for keeping a puma." The magistrate re-evaluated the number down from 2.2 million.

"The facts were also discussed in a disciplinary hearing, which was archived by Lucca's prosecutor in 2000," remarked Cipollini's lawyer, Giuseppe Napoleone. "The judge affirmed that the cyclist's affairs required that he was continually moving, and this does not allow him to fix his residence in Italy."

Cipollini also is facing two tax evasion hearings for the years of 2000 to 2004.