Garth Drabinsky
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Garth Howard Drabinsky, OC , LL.B , LL.D (born October 27, 1949) is a Canadian film and theatrical producer and entrepreneur.
Born in Toronto, Ontario, Drabinsky graduated from the University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1973.
He was the producer for the following films: The Disappearance (1977), The Silent Partner (1978), The Changeling (1980), Tribute (1980), The Amateur (1981), Losin' It (1983), The Gospel of John (2003), Half Light, and The Gospel of Mark.
In 1971, he married Pearl Kaplan. They have two children, Alicia and Marc.
In 1979, he and Nat Taylor co-founded Cineplex Odeon, a predecessor company of Cineplex Entertainment.
In 1995, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.
[edit] Legal issues
In November, 1998, Mr. Drabinsky's publicly traded theatre production company, Live Entertainment Corporation of Canada, Inc. (also known as Livent) sought bankruptcy protection in the US claiming a debt of $334-million and securities regulators in both Canada and the US began investigating the company's books.
In January, 1999, Mr. Drabinsky, and his partner, Myron Gottlieb, were indicted in New York, New York on charges of accounting fraud. Drabinsky and Gottlieb failed to appear for trial and are now under fugitive arrest warrants in the United States.
In October 2002, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police charged Mr. Drabinsky and three other former Livent senior executives with fraud affecting the public market. These charges were laid under Section 380 (1)(a) of the Criminal Code of Canada and pertain to alleged accounting irregularities within Livent Inc. between December 14, 1989 and June 23, 1998.
Charged were: Garth H. Drabinsky, age 52, of Spadina Road in Toronto - charged with 19 counts of fraud over $5,000. Myron I. Gottlieb, age 59, of MacPherson Avenue in Toronto - charged with 19 counts of fraud over $5,000. Gordon Eckstein, age 50, of Kimberdale Crescent in Scarborough, Ontario, - charged with 18 counts of Fraud over $5,000. Robert Topol, age 47, of Newport Square in Thornhill, Ontario, - charged with 13 counts of Fraud over $5,000.
Police allege that the accused defrauded creditors and private and public investors of approximately one-half a billion dollars between December 14, 1989, and June 23, 1998. Police allege that the accused perpetrated this alleged fraud by falsifying the corporate financial statements of Livent Inc. and therefore misrepresenting the financial health of the company.
