Update: Judge avers "society will be better served by allowing him to continue good works" of charity, so Beanie Babies' Ty Warner gets probation.
"The billionaire businessman behind Beanie Babies learned Tuesday that he won't go to prison for hiding at least $25 million from U.S. tax authorities, and the judge who gave him two years' probation instead went to great lengths to praise his charitable giving. H. Ty Warner, one of the highest profile figures snared in a federal investigation of Americans using Swiss bank accounts to avoid U.S. taxes, issued a brief apology before he was sentenced in Chicago federal court. The toymaker, who pleaded guilty to a single count of tax evasion, said he felt 'shame and embarrassment' for what he had done." -- Michael Tarm, Associated Press
