Former theatre mogul Drabinsky loses appeal bid

Former theatre mogul Garth Drabinsky has lost a bid to have his appeal heard by the Supreme Court of Canada.

The top court announced Thursday it will not hear an appeal to a ruling made by Ontario's Court of Appeal made last September that upheld Drabinsky's 2009 fraud conviction.

The Supreme Court also refused to grant Drabinsky a new trial.

Drabinsky and his business partner Myron Gottlieb were each convicted in 2009 on two counts of fraud related to Livent Inc., the famous theatre company they founded. 

The two men were convicted after an Ontario court judge found that during a nine-year span they manipulated the income reported by Livent with a kickback scheme that dated back to 1989.

They were imprisoned in mid-September after an Appeal Court panel upheld their convictions.

Their sentences, however, were trimmed, with Drabinsky facing five years in prison and Gottlieb, four.

The Supreme Court does not typically give a reason for rejecting appeal requests. The court usually only accepts appeals when it suspects a miscarriage of justice may have taken place.

Livent was once considered the toast of the Canadian theatre scene but collapsed in bankruptcy in 1998 with investors losing an estimated $500 million.

It brought popular shows such as Phantom of the Opera and Ragtime to Toronto during the 1990s.