Lots of news sources are following the second fall from grace of mega-patron Alberto Vilar, who was arrested at the airport last Thursday for fraud. Said the New York Times:
But it all came crashing down Thursday. That night, Mr. Vilar, 64, flew to Newark Liberty International Airport from Las Vegas, where he spoke at an investor conference. At the airport, federal agents arrested him on fraud charges, accusing him of stealing $5 million from a client — and using the money to make good on charitable pledges. As he was led away in handcuffs, there was no doubt that the Vilar bubble had burst once more — perhaps irreparably.
The first fall for Vilar had come several years ago, when he reneged on several of his multi-million dollar arts pledges, following the collapse of his primary technology fund. At a federal hearing on Friday, the prosecuter suggested that the $5 million fraud was just the tip of the iceburg.
Other coverage of the arrest and the financial troubles comes from CNN and Bloomberg, which offers a glimpse of the complaint:
Vilar used the unidentified client’s investment in 2002 “as a personal piggy bank to pay personal expenses and make charitable contributions, without the knowledge, consent, or authorization of the victim,” U.S. Postal Inspector Cynthia Fraterrigo said in a complaint prosecutors unsealed yesterday.
It will be interesting to watch how arts organizations, who have named buildings, programs, and initiatives after the donor, respond to the allegations (for example, the Vilar Grand Tier at the Metropolitan Opera, the Vilar young artists program at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, the Vilar Center for the Arts in Avon, Colorado, and the Vilar Institute for Arts Management at the Kennedy Center).
