Douglas Bruce, longtime tax crusader and now a convicted tax evader, will be released from jail Thursday morning in Denver, after receiving time off for good behavior.

Bruce was convicted in December of tax evasion and three other tax-related crimes, and was sentenced in February to 180 days in jail. That sentence was commuted on May 7, and he will be released May 31, after serving 103 days.

Denver Sheriff Public Information Officer Capt. Frank Gale said Bruce was cooperative during his time in jail, and part of the reason he will be released is because he helped clean up the inmate pod where he stayed.

“It was really pretty uneventful. Nothing unusual happened,” Gale said. “He’ll get statutory good time, plus helping out cleaning up around the cell block. Most prisoners do that.”

Bruce spent his sentence in a communal inmate pod, with several dozen other inmates. That’s the lowest level of custody the jail has. The number of inmates in the pod varied from day to day, and its capacity is 64, Gale said.

Bruce was also a “trusty inmate,” Gale wrote in an email, and was allowed to work in the jail’s laundry department. That also contributed to his early release, Gale said.

Gale said the term trusty refers to “a jail term for an inmate that is cleared to do special work outside of their normal housing area. It does not mean that the inmate is notably trustworthy.”

Bruce is best known for authoring the Taxpayers Bill of Rights, which Colorado voters approved in 1992. The change prohibits the state Legislature from raising taxes without permission from voters and limits the growth of government. He has campaigned for a number of tax measures since then, and has been one of the most influential public figures in modern Colorado history.

A year ago, Bruce ran unsuccessfully for Colorado Springs City Council, along with several other candidates he dubbed “The Reform Team.”

Bruce was arrested in April 2011 and charged with tax evasion, filing a false tax return, failing to file a tax return, and attempting to influence a public official.

The charges involved a nonprofit that he founded 11 years ago called Active Citizens Together that Bruce used to launder his income. Because he ran ACT and donated his money to the group, prosecutors argued he was donating money to himself.

The indictment against Bruce alleged that he had earned $178,000 in illegal interest on loans he made to ACT, that he didn’t pay income tax in 2005, 2006 and 2007, that he filed a false return in 2005, didn’t file returns in 2006 and 2007, and lied to the state Department of Revenue.

Bruce was ultimately found guilty on all counts.

Denver Judge Anne Mansfield, who heard the case, could have given Bruce 12 years in prison and fined him $700,000. In addition to the 180 days in jail, she also gave him six years of probation, and required him to pay the prosecution’s expenses, which amounted to $21,000, along with $28,000 in taxes and interest he owes the state.

Also as part of his sentence, Bruce will be required to disclose all of his bank accounts, computer files, and financial transactions. He may also be required to pay for therapy.

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