MOSCOW AP Russia's tax police found 15471 tax violations in the first 10 months of this year and sentenced 998 people for tax dodging officials said Tuesday. The Federal Tax Police also said they had confiscated 18 million liters 4.7 million gallons of illegally produced alcohol from January to October worth 500 million rubles dlrs 27 million the ITAR-Tass news agency reported. Tax evasion is widespread in Russia which has aggravated the country's financial troubles. Russian cash-strapped government has been trying to tighten control over the lucrative alcohol business saying it would be a crucial way of collecting more taxes. adc APW19981201.0064.txt.body.html APW19981201.0898.txt.body.html