Sentencing Hearing Begins For Livent’s Drabinsky And Gottlieb
Posted July 6, 2009 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Garth Drabinsky’s defence is asking a Toronto court for a lenient sentence for the 60-year-old theatre impresario, who along with his partner was convicted of cooking Livent’s books.
Defence lawyer Edward Greenspan has been reading excerpts from more than 40 letters of character from friends, family and theatre professionals to draw attention to Drabinsky’s successful past.
Greenspan says a sentencing hearing is the one time when a person’s good deeds should weigh heavily on the case’s outcome.
The defence says Drabinsky’s post-polio symptoms also have a “genuine impact” on where he serves his sentence.
The Crown is recommending a sentence of eight to 10 years for both Drabinsky and his Livent partner, Myron Gottlieb, and is calling the case an “enormous fraud.”
In its sentencing argument, the Crown said neither man had shown any remorse during their trial on fraud and forgery charges.
The pair, whose Broadway and Canadian productions of “Kiss of the Spider Woman” and “The Phantom of the Opera” thrilled audiences, were found guilty in March of defrauding investors of millions.
The convictions on two counts each of fraud and one of forgery carry respective maximum sentences of 10 and 14 years.
Ex-Theatre Giant Garth Drabinsky Pleads Not Guilty In Fraud Trial
Guilty Verdict For Livent Co-Founders
Live Ent And Garth Drabinsky
It was quite a ride for Garth Drabinksy’s Live Entertainment during its heyday as king of the local theatre world. That empire has now fallen forever with his conviction in a Toronto courtroom on Wednesday.
He’s the man who helped bring Broadway to Toronto – and the same one that introduced the practice of showing commercials in movie houses, which went from major palaces to postage stamp size cineplexes.
Here’s a look back at just some of the once high flying mogul’s major accomplishments.
Theatre Productions
Phantom Of The Opera
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Sunset Boulevard
Candide
The Island
Kiss of the Spider Woman
Show Boat
Ragtime
Barrymore
Fosse: A Celebration in Song and Dance
Parade
Something Wonderful
Pal Joey
The Sweet Smell of Success
Movies
The Silent Partner (1978)
The Changeling (1979)
Tribute (1980)
The Amateur (1981)
Losin’ It (1983)
Venues
Cineplex Odeon (1,800 screens across U.S. and Canada)
Pantages Theatre
Ford Centre for the Performing Arts
