In the 1990′s Garth Drabinsky’s LIVENT was the hottest commercial producing company on Broadway.  With hits like Ragtime! Show Boat, Kiss of the Spider Woman, and Fosse!, the company and its founders were on top of the world.

It all came crashing down late in the decade, when it came to light that the company had been engaged in some very creative accounting.   Max Bialystock has nothing on these guys!

In 2002 Drabinsky and his colleague Myron Gottlieb were arrested in Canada and charged with fraud and ere convicted  earlier this year.  On August 5th, after proposing to the Court a sentence involving community service and a speaking tour (it seems the song-and-dance never stops).. the two men were sentenced to seven and six year sentences, respectively.

Although the sentences seem short, they’re appropriate under Canadian law,since both men have serious health problems.  Both men remain free on bail pending appeals.

The two men are still wanted in the U.S., where they’ve been charged with additional counts of fraud.

After the implosion of Livent in 1998, the company’s properties were purchased by SFX Entertainment, now operating as Live Nation.