People

By Guy D. Garcia

The Fourth of July is for celebrating freedom, which is what the Rev. Sun Myung Moon did. His particular cause for joy: independence from U.S. authorities. Moon went into federal prison in Danbury, Conn., nearly twelve months ago after his conviction on charges of income tax evasion. He claimed that the funds belonged to the church and that he was a victim of religious persecution. Released six months early for good behavior, the Korean-born founder and spiritual leader of the Unification Church must still spend a month and a half as a resident of the Oxford Project, an inmate-rehabilitation center in Brooklyn, N.Y. Waving to reporters but refusing to comment as he emerged from prison, Moon, 65, was whisked to his estate in Irvington, N.Y., where he spent the day with his family and church officials, one of whom complained, "The fact that he is still not liberated is frustrating." Moon is free to resume his religious work, though, as long as he is tucked in at Oxford every night by 10.