A trial that has riveted the world of philanthropy ended today with the conviction of Alberto W. Vilar, a man who pledged, and sometimes gave, millions of dollars to the arts.
Vilar, 68, was convicted in U.S. District Court in Manhattan on 12 counts related to fraud and money laundering.
“We’re deeply disappointed by the jury’s verdict,” said Herald Price Fahringer, Vilar’s attorney, as reported by The New York Times. “We fully expect to be vindicated on appeal.”
Asked what went wrong, Vilar said, “I don’t know,” the Times reported.
Vilar’s co-defendant and business partner, Gary A. Tanaka, 65, was convicted on three counts of securities fraud.
His attorney, Glenn C. Colton, said that his client’s acquittal on nine counts showed the difficulty the jury, which deliberated for three days, had in reaching a decision.
Vilar and Tanaka had been partners in the former firm of Amerindo Investment Advisors, which they founded in 1979.
During the 1990s, Amerindo invested heavily and successfully in high-tech stocks. Before the tech bubble burst in 2001, Vilar had an estimated worth of $900 million according to Forbes magazine.
Vilar, an opera lover, made more than $200 millions in pledges to several arts organizations, including the Metropolitan Opera ($20 million) and England’s Royal Opera House ($17 million). He also pledged $23.4 million to New York University.
However, Vilar often came up short on fulfilling his pledges. The Metropolitan Opera removed Vilar’s name from its Grand Tier when his pledge fell short, and other organizations took similar measures.
Vilar and Tanaka were arrested in May 2005. Some of the charges against them stemmed from a complaint by a client, Lily Cates, an heiress and the estranged mother of actress Phoebe Cates.
She had invested $5 million in an Amerindo fund in 2002.
Authorities charge that Vilar used the money for his own purposes, sending some of it to his alma mater, Washington & Jefferson College in Pennsylvania. Other money allegedly went to the American Academy in Berlin.
Tanaka was also said to have been involved in the diversion of Cates’ money. Born in the U.S., he now lives in England, where he is a well-known philanthropist and horse breeder.
Lawyers for Vilar and Tanaka had said in their defense that the investment funds did not lose money before they were frozen at the time of the arrests.
Both men remain free on bail, pending a bail hearing before U.S. District Court Judge Richard J. Sullivan on Nov. 26. No date has been set for sentencing.
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