On the corner of Second Street and Lavaca in downtown Austin, a bronze Willie Nelson sits eight feet tall with his guitar resting on his leg and his braids hanging over his chest. He's smiling. I've walked past him for years without knowing about what he lost before anyone cast him in metal.

In 1990 that man owed the IRS about $16 million. His accountants at Price Waterhouse had steered his money into tax shelters the government threw out, and for years nobody had paid his taxes. Nelson trusted professionals with the money so he could stay with the music. The bill came to his door anyway. Federal agents seized most of what he owned and auctioned it.