AP Photo/Stew MilneHe's been outwitted, outplayed and outlasted by the feds at every turn.
Now Richard Hatch is pinning his final hopes on the ultimate Tribal Council.
The original Survivor winner has appealed his tax-dodging conviction to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Hatch is serving a four-year stint in federal lockup for failing to report his $1 million grand prize to the IRS.
Per his brief filed with the Supreme Court on May 23, Hatch claims CBS promised to pay all taxes on his winnings as hush money after he discovered producers attempting to rig the game, but the original trial judge refused to let Hatch testify about it.
The Eyeball has denied the allegations.
Additionally, Hatch legal eagle Michael Minns claims the 47-year-old reality star wasn't allowed to properly cross-examine Hatch's tax preparer, who was a pivotal witness for federal prosecutors.
In February, the U.S. District Court of Appeals pooh-poohed that argument and upheld Hatch's 2006 conviction.
The chances of the high court hearing the appeal are slim. In any case, Hatch has a plan B.
"He's writing a book about his experiences with the legal system," Minns tells the Providence Journal-Bulletin, "and his disappointment not just with the problems that he suffered but with the problems other people have suffered that he has met."
"He's extremely optimistic about his appeal," Minns adds. "He still believes the system should work."
Hatch currently calls the Federal Correctional Institution in Morgantown, W. Va, home. He is due to be sprung in October 2009.