Livent theatre execs to be sentenced Wednesday

Former Livent theatre executives Garth Drabinksy and his business partner, Myron Gottlieb, who were convicted of fraud and forgery, will be sentenced Wednesday.

The hearing is to begin at 10 a.m. in a downtown Toronto court.

The maximum penalty on a fraud conviction is 10 years in jail, and a forgery conviction can carry a 14-year sentence.

When Drabinksy and Gottlieb were found guilty in March, Justice Mary Lou Benotto of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Toronto said they "systemically manipulated the books" at the now defunct Livent Inc.

At a sentencing hearing in early July, Crown attorney Alex Hrybinsky suggested that Drabinsky and Gottlieb should be sentenced to eight to 10 years in prison.

Lawyers for Drabinsky and Gottlieb asked for a conditional sentence of two years less a day, plus three years of probation and 240 hours of community service.

Drabinsky's lawyer, Edward Greenspan, proposed that the judge send his client on a speaking tour across the country to discuss theatre and "the avoidance of unethical conduct." He also said Drabinsky could fundraise $50,000 that would go for scholarships so underprivileged children could study performing arts.

Livent rose to prominence in the 1990s by producing a string of hits in Canada and on Broadway, including Kiss of the Spider Woman, The Phantom of the Opera and a revival of Show Boat.

At the trial of Drabinsky and Gottlieb, Benotto said those successes were built upon a platform of falsehoods and manipulation as the two men artificially inflated the company's profits and depressed its costs to make Livent's financial situation appear rosier than it was.